If you’ve started a business from scratch, you’ll agree that the initial requirements can be overwhelming. The rush to market the business may cloud your mind making you disregard data security. While devising security measures may appear inconsequential at the early stage of your business, lack of it can cost you immensely. According to a report by Small Business Trends, approximately 48% of the cyber-attacks affect small businesses.
As such, there is a need to protect your data from cybercriminals, which will help you to build and maintain a reputable image of your business. This article offers actionable tips and advices how startups can keep data secure.
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Why You Should Secure Your Data
If your startup is operating in the digital space, then you’re obliged to protect your data from unauthorized access, which may lead to breaches. Data trade is a highly lucrative venture, and failure to institute watertight security measures makes it easy for hackers to access the data for use in their criminal activities illegally.
Also, the application of technology in various business operations has changed the cybersecurity dynamics. Personally identifiable information is collected and stored in your organization’s systems.
If you fail to guarantee security for such sensitive information, then you can be certain that your customers will lose confidence in your business. The net effect will be a loss of revenue and the possible closure of your business!
How to Protect Your Data
Protecting your data doesn’t have to be expensive. As a startup, you need to keep your expenditure low to ensure smooth operations within a tight budget. Here are a few effective methods you can use to safeguard your data without breaking your bank:
Have a Clear Data Protection Plan. When starting a business, you should conduct an in-depth analysis of your data security needs. You need to establish the following:
# What type of data will you collect and store?
# Who will be authorized to access the data?
# What are the rules for sharing data?
# What software and hardware tools will you use to handle the data?
# How will you respond in cases of security threats and data loss?
Answering these questions will help you to adopt a comprehensive data protection strategy. If you find it challenging, you can hire an IT security auditor to establish the system for your business.
Always Encrypt Your Files. Encryption of details such as emails, contact information, bank details, names, and payment information is crucial. The data is sensitive, and any loss or compromise will have devastating effects on your business including lawsuits and loss of customers’ confidence.
Limit Access to Sensitive Information. Only allow a few authorized employees to handle your sensitive data. This offers you a chance to monitor the sharing of files, thus guaranteeing security. Also, you should consider giving all the employees a unique login code to ensure that you can trace any irregularity to a specific employee. This will improve accountability.
Use Strong Passwords and Firewalls. Weak passwords will, with no doubt, expose your systems to hackers. It’s recommended that you use long passwords with a mix of numbers, alphabets, and other characters. This will make it relatively difficult for hackers to guess the password
Store Minimal Data. You should only collect data that you need for your operations. The less you collect, the more manageable it will be for you. With your limited budget, you should not store extensive data that may require sophisticated systems to protect.
Outsource to Cloud-Based Compliant Experts. As a startup, you may find it relatively expensive to house a team of security experts. As such, you should outsource the services from established cloud-based experts. These vendors will help you to access sophisticated compliance tools at affordable rates.
Regularly Conduct Penetration Tests. There are several tools that you can use to assess your readiness to avert various threats. The simple exercise highlights gaps in your security system thus giving you a chance to rectify it before the cybercriminals capitalize on it
Train Your Employees. According to TechRepublic, approximately 40% of all cyber-attacks in 2018 occurred due to employees’ negligence. If you fail to train your workers on proper data handling practices, then you can be sure that they will expose your business to cyber threats unknowingly. As such, you should regularly train them on the ethics of data storage and sharing. Additionally, you must let them understand every security measure that you’ve installed in your business and how it works optimally
Bottom Line
Even when your budget is limited, you should never overlook security matters in your startup. If you fail to win the customers’ trust in the early stages of your business, then your business will be at a higher risk of collapsing.
There are several cost-effective techniques that you can use to protect your data. This article has highlighted some of the most actionable ones. You shouldn’t hesitate to implement them and watch as your business grows.
