Data security, always an important topic, has been made even more urgent by the Equifax data breach and the fact that 143 million users had their personal information stolen after entrusting it (or not) to Equifax. You need to consider what would happen if your business were on the receiving end of a data breach, and prepare to handle this truly unpleasant circumstance.

Data security, always an important topic, has been made even more urgent by the Equifax data breach and the fact that 143 million users had their personal information stolen after entrusting it (or not) to Equifax. You need to consider what would happen if your business were on the receiving end of a data breach, and prepare to handle this truly unpleasant circumstance.

Below are three relatively simple measures for you to implement that can help preventatively secure your business against attacks like the one that struck Equifax.

Utilize Strong Passwords and Two-Factor Authentication Measures
Take a moment to consider what might happen if someone were to access your accounts. Do you really feel comfortable protecting that data with the name of your childhood pet, some other personal detail, or--worst of all--“password?”

The easier the password is, the easier it will be for a hacker to potentially crack. This is why we recommend that you design your passwords using capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols to create an apparently random string of characters. It makes cracking your account much more difficult for a hacker to accomplish.

Use Unified Threat Management to Secure Your Network
A proper approach to network security will incorporate both internal and external preparations. One such preparation is to include devices like a UTM, or Unified Threat Management, tool. A UTM leverages protections like antivirus, spam blocking, enterprise-level firewalls, and content filtering to prevent your network from being seeded with threats. Additionally, you will have the ability to react to issues before they can do too much damage, which will help keep problems from influencing your productivity.

Share The Benefits of Best Practices
While your business relies on its employees in order to function, it is also at the mercy of their ability to handle threats. All it could take is the wrong employee receiving a spam message or someone clicking a fraudulent link to leave your business network vulnerable. To combat this, you need to educate your employees on how to spot situations that could end poorly, like phishing attempts and social engineering emails. You can thwart a surprising number of these threats simply by making sure your staff knows what to look for.

These methods can give you the steps to help keep your business safe from threats that could otherwise cause a data breach. To learn some more ways to help ensure your security, keep reading our blog, and give us a call at (415) 295-4898 to make sure your data is safe.