Hackers are everywhere, especially during the corona outbreak. Cybercriminals have influenced the Covid-19 pandemic to upgrade all cyberattacks schemes, from private network hacking to ransomware take-overs of medical center systems. At present, human emotion is the biggest cybersecurity susceptibility of all cybercrime system exploitations. A swerve of the latest phishing attacks target consumers’ trust in various digital platforms to steal private data and destroy lives.

When it comes to cybercrime, phishing attacks are very common. Cybercriminals attempt to hire a person to download malware or acquire any private data via phone or email by exploiting their anxiety, fear, trust, or curiosity. Cybercriminals pose as a government agency, trusted friend, or a renowned business tycoon in most cases. These hackers impersonate medical organizations and spread fake news. At present, hackers have adapted to the realism of telecommuting or remote work by impersonating trusted technological platforms. Google (News - Alert) Meet, Zoom, and Skype users are now the main targets of controlling cybercrime.

Whether it is happening at a large company or the latest start-up agency, data theft and web threats can cause gigantic disruptions to any business operations. If you have no proper security and schemes in the workplace, your business may face the consequences of these cyberattacks. To protect your business, the best thing you need to do is to invest in the right methods. As a guide, here are the top ways to secure your enterprise data:

1. Implement a Data Security Plan

Every company should craft, implement, and update an all-inclusive data security plan. This plan should include a detailed inventory of the distinct categories of data gathered, stored, administered, or communicated by the agency. For each category of the security procedures and policies, it should include the following topics:

• Definition of the needed security measures. This may include the intended measure to secure the data and those measures designed to protect the physical security of the computers or other related devices.
• Recognition of authorized parties to access the company data.
• Detailed description of authorized data uses.
• Actions that need to be taken in case of service outrages or failures involving computer networks and communications.
• Training programs for the company staff and other authorized information network users to ensure data security compliance.

The company’s data security plan should also address actions in case of a potential or actual security breach.  It means that your company should have a plan that includes defensive measures to prevent or stop the breach.

2. Use a Hosted VPN

A Virtual Private Network, also known as VPN, creates an encrypted connection between the remote private network and your device. It means that only networks and computers with a special key can decrypt the data. Using a hosted VPN is a cost-effective solution. In fact, it is considered a viable way of protecting your company data. Apart from its enhanced security, hosted VPN allows you to access remotely, maintain online, and share files obscurity.

VPNs give total privacy to scan the internet freely without worrying about being hacked, having data stored or gathered, or monitored. VPN networks are solely intended to encrypt data before it goes through the web.  If you are using VPNs, your web activity cannot be monitored by anyone. Hackers don’t have a chance to track websites you visit, verify what you download, or monitor what social media platform you are using. Since a hosted VPN secures access to cloud-based applications, it is expected that your origin IP is protected from identity thieves or hackers.

3. Educate Your Staff on Data Security Practices

Your personnel plays a vital role in securing your company data. Negligence of the staff is a major risk to your company’s data security. The good news is, you can solve this issue by educating them about the proper data security best practices.

To educate your staff, the best thing you need to do is to conduct a series of training or professional staff development seminars. You may also send out security information on a regular basis to guarantee that your staff knows how to keep the integrity and security of your business data accurately.

As advised, teach your staff to turn off their computer when not in use properly. Also, remind them not to trust links that come from unverified sources to protect their company data. You also need to reiterate to them to sign out their accounts, especially if not in use.

Above all, you must back up everything. Data breaches never entail stolen or duplicated data. If your network crashed or if your device is stolen, you could lose all your business pertinent data. This is the reason why it is vital to have backup protocols for all your company information. Now, when it comes to securing your business data, you have lots of options to choose from. It is simply a matter of understanding if the scheme is suited for your business or not.

Organizational data is threatened by inadvertent incidents, malicious parties, and even government establishments around the globe. The effects of data security breaches are truly devastating for any business organization. Therefore, data security should be a crucial element of your company’s overall risk management analysis and strategic planning.

With proper company data security, you will experience the following:

• Secures Your Valuable Data – Say, for instance, not all data in your company has to be viewed by all your staff. Personal information must remain confidential between the HR department and employees. With this, data protection can help in securing that information.
• Stay on the Competition – Having a secured company data helps you stay ahead of your business competitors. Through securing the data of your clients, the trust level of your clients to your company will tend to increase.
• Reduced Development Costs – Using VPNs or installing security into your company system reduces support time and development costs. Take note that using non-secure software may cost you a lot of money, time, and effort.

Above all, you are totally protected against hackers. Data security can make it hard for hackers to access crucial data. This may include key data stored by your company like phone numbers, addresses, bank details, email accounts, health information, and the like.

Protecting your company data is not a tricky task. Just follow the best steps and strategies and expect that your business is in good hands.