Getting Back to Basics With Data Security
It’s only the first month of 2021, yet data breaches are already dominating the news – from more details coming out about the SolarWinds data breach, to the hacking of gaming company Capcom. As the Wall Street Journal said of the former data breach, “It is the latest twist in a wide-ranging hack whose breadth and sophistication has alarmed security experts and government agencies.”
So how can we press restart on 2021 and get back to the basics when it comes to data security? Below are a few points to consider when it comes to securing your payments and protecting your business:
- Implement a security plan for a post-COVID world. With the vaccine now being rolled out around the world, it’s only a matter of time before industries who’ve been quiet for the past few months – such as brick-and-mortar retailers and travel companies – will experience an influx of custom. Instead of waiting for a problem to find the right solution, work on a plan now and test out your security systems to make sure that you’re prepared ahead of time and have the right steps in place to handle any issues.
- Set up two-factor authentication across company and employee accounts. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication is a quick and easy way to protect employees’ accounts, and well worth the bit of extra effort. Setting up two-factor authentication across company accounts adds another layer of protection so that hackers have a harder time. Just as you would keep sensitive company documents in a safe place in the ‘real’ world, make sure that your digital documents and accounts are similarly protected in cyberspace.
- Ensure continued data security and privacy in an at-home environment. For contact centers and other industries that may be ill-equipped to handle sensitive customer data in a secure way from home, a simple measure to ensure better security is to improve the encryption of data. While many companies may have already had a secure network set up in their physical offices for employees, the same environment can be created in employees’ homes using a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Make sure that your employees are able to set this up in their remote workplace, so they don’t have to worry about sensitive data being stolen across a public network.
- Don’t wait until it’s too late. Every business can benefit from improved data security by complying with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) – and are required to do so if they take card payments. Being PCI compliant using PCI Pal ensures customer information remains safe even in the event of a data breach, providing much-needed reassurance for your company and customers.
With January being the month to make resolutions, why not challenge yourself to be proactive about managing your company’s payment security? Consider the recent data breaches your reminder to check in on your employees and internal systems to make sure everyone and everything is well-equipped to handle sensitive information. After all, if the United States government can go months without noticing a data breach, none of us are safe without some added security measures.
The post Getting Back to Basics With Data Security appeared first on PCI Pal.
*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Knowledge Centre – PCI Pal authored by Stacey Richards. Read the original post at: https://www.pcipal.com/en/knowledge-centre/news/getting-back-to-basics-with-data-security/
