FormAssembly follows the highest standards of data security, and we’re here to share our knowledge with you. Don’t be the next news story about a data breach or security scandal — follow these tips to make sure you and your customers are protected.
Build a secure foundation
No matter how many employees your company has, each employee should be familiar with the data security policies and procedures you have in place. It’s important to include security training during new employee onboarding so that every member of your team is in the know, regardless of status or job title.
In this training, you can include things like password best practices, multi-factor authentication, and other data security practices that are relevant to your business. Data security best practices and regulations are constantly evolving, so make sure to update and reinforce this training periodically.
Be careful with passwords
Sure, you might share login information for video streaming services with friends and family outside of work. But for anything work related, password sharing is a bad idea. Instead, make sure your employees have the correct access rights from the start, use a multi-step process for system access requests, and create secure password-sharing procedures. This way, you’ll decrease the chances of leaking any sensitive information to someone who shouldn’t have access to it.
On top of that, it’s important to always use strong, original passwords. According to this study by Verizon, 81% of data breaches happen because of weak, compromised, or reused passwords.
Be proactive, not reactive
To avoid scrambling in the event of an unexpected data security emergency, take preventative measures beforehand instead. Always think 10 steps ahead and anticipate potential threats to your business, like phishing or internal security errors. If you know how to prevent these things from happening in the first place, the less likely you are to be caught off-guard.
Pay extra attention if your company works with a lot of customer data. Internal data breaches are damaging as is, but explaining a massive data breach to thousands of customers can be even more complicated. To prevent this, take a layered approach to protecting networks: use anti-virus software, wipe lost or stolen devices, perform constant backups, and encrypt backup data. Put together a comprehensive Risk Management Plan that includes all data security measures, including disaster recovery plans for potential extreme situations. Test and update this plan periodically.
Use secure tools and technology
Data security can seem overwhelming, but there are several helpful tools that can help you achieve the level of security you need within your company. Box and Google Apps are great to use for storing important files and collaborative documents. LastPass, Sticky Password, and Dashlane can help you and your employees protect all your strong passwords. BitDefender provides real-time security for all devices within your company.
Last but certainly not least, FormAssembly allows you to securely collect data from customers. With hundreds of helpful data security tools out there, you’ll have to do some research to find which ones will be most useful for your organization. Just make sure the tools you’re using will provide the level of security your organization needs, and they’re sure to save you plenty of time, stress, and resources.
Get started
Want to learn more about data security? Don’t miss our Data Privacy Deep Dive webinar series. If your organization is looking for a more efficient and secure way to collect data, you’ll want to check out FormAssembly’s plans and features.
