Make security everyone’s responsibility
While you can put measures in place to safeguard your confidential information, your data security relies on your employees playing their part too.
Government figures find that phishing scams, which trick people into revealing information via an email or text from a seemingly trusted source, affected 83 per cent of businesses that suffered a cyber breach or attack.
Involve the whole team in building security procedures to ensure that they will work in real situations, and conduct regular training to raise awareness of potential issues and reinforce good practice.
It is also important that there is a no-blame culture. While you and your employees can do as much as possible to prevent a data breach, cyber attacks are becoming increasingly sophisticated and we are all at risk of theft of a device.
By ensuring that staff feel confident in reporting incidents, you can address any issues as quickly as possible.
Third-party software can also provide a weak spot in your cyber defences.
Alongside implementing your own data security policy, you also need to confirm that other companies in your supply chain have their own policy in place to prevent, detect and respond to incidents, and keep a comprehensive, up-to-date list of each company’s data security contacts, especially if you are sharing confidential client data.
Clients also need to understand that they have a role to play in keeping their data private.
Some, especially less tech-savvy or vulnerable clients, may struggle with multi-step sign-on processes.
However, there is growing recognition of the importance of data security, so most clients will agree that access to their personal information should be restricted.
Going through sign-on processes several times for clients who need extra help will be worthwhile in the long run to keep your data secure.
Use technology to protect your data
Technology is an important tool to enhance your organisation's data security. This starts with email filters that detect phishing scams and prevent them from reaching your employees' inboxes.
Using client portals can also be more secure than post or email.
According to the Information Commissioner’s Office, which records breaches of the general data protection regulation, in 2022 there were 2,478 incidents reported around communication issues.
Of these, 63 per cent related to data being emailed to the incorrect recipient and 31 per cent due to it being posted or faxed to the wrong person, while just 6 per cent were due to the wrong data subject being shown in a client portal.
As well as defending your data from attack, you should also be prepared in case the worst happens.
Backing up your critical data is an essential component of your data security strategy so you can always access your information quickly if you experience a cyber attack or other data loss.
