The protection of data helps to reduce the risk of cyber attacks which could harm your business or personal image. It is important to know the best practices to protect your personal information and adhere to these guidelines. An unauthorized disclosure of private information could lead to lawsuits or fines that could have long-term implications for your company or yourself.
Secure all from this source your devices and files with a password. This simple step will stop hackers from gaining access to your information. Use strong passwords with complex combinations of numbers, letters and symbols. Change default passwords provided by vendors to more secure ones as soon as you are able to. Keep your anti-virus software up to date and conduct a security scan on your computer and servers.
Do not send personal information or confidential information via email. This includes Social Security Numbers, bank account numbers passwords, etc. Email is not secure and can be accessed by unsympathetic parties.
Secure your data and network – Make sure you use strong encryption to protect your computers, laptops and portable storage devices. This will allow you to transmit information to third parties in a secure manner and to protect information on the devices. It’s also essential to have a plan in place for responding to a cyber attack and who to notify and how to respond (e.g. employees or customers, credit agencies, etc.).).
Make sure you backup of all your data – Keep offline copies of your most important data in different locations from the ones where your primary copies are kept. This will stop attackers from gaining unauthorized access to your primary copy, or from deleting it.