The average cost of a data breach for a small business in the United States is $2.63 million. The global average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million.
Data breaches destroy customer confidence in your company.
They also leave you on the hook for customer damage, and identity theft is costly. Thus, it’s a good idea to take the potential for breaches seriously.
Here are five ways you can prevent data breaches at your company.
#1) Educate Your Employees
Your employees are the first line of defense against any data breach. Train them to protect your security by:
- Using strong passwords
- Using multi-factor authentication
- Spotting common scams
- Data protection regulations
You should also train them on which documents to shred and when and provide them with shredding receptacles.
#2) Take Security Measures
Every company needs to take security measures to defend against hackers.
- Use anti-virus software
- Update your website to a secure https:// website
- Hire someone to monitor your network
- Backup your data, but keep only what you need
- Encrypt data before sending it
You may need to hire an expert to update your company’s data protection plan.
#3) Keep Software Up to Date
Nobody likes taking the time to update software, but those patches are vital to maintaining your security. Updates almost always include patches that close hacker loopholes.
Instruct your employees to take the time when the alert shows up, even if it interrupts their work day.
#4) Perform Regular Audits
Schedule annual security audits to ensure that your sensitive information is being protected to the best of your ability. An audit can help your company identify system vulnerabilities and strengthen security protocols.
#5) Destroy Data Properly
Destroying hard drives and paper copies of sensitive data is the best way to ensure it stays out of criminal hands. Many criminals simply grab what they need right out of the garbage.
Data Shredding Services offers the most comprehensive hard drive destruction on the market.
We also offer mobile or scheduled shredding services, which will allow you to place receptacles in your office. Employees dump the documents into a locked container. We pick up the container on a regular schedule and destroy everything inside past reconstruction.
In both cases, you get the highest degree of protection against data theft, and we provide you with a Certificate of Destruction that you can use to help defend yourself should a legal case arise in the future.
Get Help Today
Request a quote for our shredding services. We will gladly customize a solution designed to defend your company from hackers, scammers, and data salesmen.
Don’t become the next big data breach headline. Call Data Shredding Services of Houston today.