Tag Archives: data security

The Top 7 Mobile Security Threats to Address in Your BYOD Policy

Mobile Security Threats
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BYOD or Bring Your Own Device is a modern practice where employees use their personally owned gadgets – smartphones, laptops, tablets, or whatnot – for work. This is opposed to the traditional method of using company-issued equipment exclusively for work stuff which can have mobile security threats.

The BYOD policy has several perks, such as more flexibility in remote work, a healthier balance between work and personal life, and reduced equipment expenses. However, some challenges arise from this practice, particularly in terms of business mobile security threats.

When employees use the same device for all their dealings, this could create several mobile security threats that the company must address in the BYOD policy. Here are seven of the top threats and our recommended solutions.

Mobile Security Threats – Device Theft

In the event of stolen or lost devices, unknown entities could have unauthorized access to sensitive information stored on the device. To guard against these mobile security threats, there must be a way to delete data from the device remotely.

Malware Infection

Malware can quickly lead to a data breach and security problems. Your company can avoid this if all personally owned devices have reliable, updated antivirus software to guard against malware infection.

Unsecured Wi-Fi

Encryption is necessary for maintaining the confidentiality and security of data, so most work and home networks have this. However, public hotspots are common for mobile security threats. If you need to connect to an uncertain network, use a VPN to guarantee data security.

Mobile Security Threats – Phishing

People are more relaxed when using their mobile phones than when they use a company computer. Because of this, many are prone to becoming victims of phishing attacks. Constant reminders would help instill a natural sense of caution in employees.

Outdated Device

Not all employees are gadget fanatics who would immediately fall in line when the newest iPhone is released. Many would stick to their old gadgets until they fell apart. While we might applaud their frugality, outdated devices can put corporate and personal data at high risk with mobile security threats. You can state in your BYOD policy that there must be a mandatory regular upgrade of all devices employees wish to use for work.

Risky Apps

Personal phones and laptops often contain games or other apps that might not be completely secure. These apps sometimes request permissions that could put your device’s contents at risk. To avoid these risks, the BYOD policy must prohibit the installation and use of these unverified apps.

Encrypted Data

When sending digital correspondence from a work computer, all data is automatically encrypted to keep it confidential. Public hotspots and some home networks might not have sufficiently secure levels of encryption, which will compromise your data. Mandatory use of proper encryption before sending out any business data will help prevent such compromises.

Creating Your BYOD Policy to Prevent Mobile Security Threats

If it is your first time drafting a BYOD policy for your company, it can get intimidating, considering all the issues that need to be addressed. For instance, the mobile threats we have listed above are just some of the potential problems you would have to deal with, and we are sure you would think of more as you go along.

To ensure you do not forget any crucial aspect, we strongly recommend you use the BYOD policy template we have created specifically for this purpose. It is a comprehensive but concise document, including everything from permitted devices and security specifications to restrictions and sanctions. Of course, you can customize it as you see fit by adding or removing items to make it appropriate for your organization’s security goals. Call us now if you need additional help!

10 Reasons Why Businesses Need Password Management

Need Password Management
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Password security is one of the most basic yet valuable aspects of protecting your business. Your company’s security relies heavily on the quality of your passwords and how you manage them. Therefore, people must choose strong, unique passwords and regularly change them to minimize the risk of hacking. That is why businesses need to choose a great Password Management tool.

Password Management is risky and tedious with the increasing number of accounts we have. Businesses need a strong password solution for data security. If you don’t have one, here are 10 compelling reasons to get a password manager soon.

We Need Password Management to Enhanced Data Security

A password manager comes with many features that can dramatically increase the security of your business. It can generate passwords that are virtually impossible to decipher. They can store these passwords in secure locations in the cloud. Password Management tools also come with multifactor authentication.

Regulatory Compliance

No matter what industry, businesses need to comply with data security regulations. There is the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard, or PCI DSS, for instance, and the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. A password manager ensures compliance with these and other relevant laws.

Fewer Passwords to Remember

The stress that employees experience can increase because they have to remember dozens of passwords for the various accounts they use at work. With the Password Management tool, there is no need to remember all these passwords because the program can auto-fill them for you.

Improved Work Productivity

With fewer things on their mind and fewer worries about forgotten passwords, employees can focus more on their actual job responsibilities. Overall work productivity will improve, ultimately leading to better business performance.

Authorized Password Sharing

For accounts where multiple individuals have access, password managers allow these entities to share passwords without compromising security.

Security in Remote Work

With most businesses now using a remote or hybrid work setup, there is much security concern when accessing business accounts from home or public networks. Through tools like high-level encryption, a password manager can guarantee the security of your business network, even with a remote workforce.

We Need Password Management For Better Digital Estate Planning

When the owner dies, the inheritors can refer to the digital estate plan to determine what to do with the digital assets. However, they have a hard time gaining access to the accounts because they do not know the passwords. But if you use a password manager now, this can be incorporated with digital estate planning, making for a hassle-free transition of the business in the owner’s event’s passing.

Centralized Control

The larger the business is, the more complicated password management can get. A password manager program gives IT control over password generation and employee access.

Financial Savings

It’s not the first thing you would think of, but password managers can save you extra expenses. They help save businesses by reducing the time employees spend retrieving forgotten passwords.

We Need Password Management for Business Continuity

In case the business suffers a disaster, like a data breach or a natural calamity, a password manager helps ensure business continuity amidst the recovery process by giving you secure access to all your login credentials.

Final Thoughts on Why Businesses Need Password Management

If these reasons still don’t convince you to get a password management system right away, we encourage you to Download our Free Password Management Cheat-Sheet. You will discover more about password management and other cloud-based solutions that apply to businesses.

If you are ready to take the next step, call us—our team is always here to help!

What is Personal Identifiable Information?

identifiable Information
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Personal identifiable information, or PII is a term that is frequently mentioned these days concerning data breaches. It means any information that can find the person to whom the information is connected. With that being said, PII is considered to be confidential and must be treated as such. This information is why companies invest in cutting-edge data protection solutions to keep these details secure. PII is also the target of hackers when they break through a company’s database or network. With access to this private information, they can carry out their malicious activities, such as identity theft, more easily.

What Information Is Considered “PII”?

NIST lists an individual’s name, biometrics, and social security number as their primary personal identifiable information in the US. The NIST list also includes home address, email, passport number, driver’s license, vehicle plate number, date of birth, and more. These are also known as pseudo-identifiers or quasi-identifiers. A person cannot be identified from some of this data, such as the birthdate, because millions of people share the same date. But when put together with other information on the list, they make it clear who the person is. Individually, pseudo-identifiers are not considered PII in the US but they are so in Europe and a few other countries.

Ways to Protect Personal Identifiable Information

PII needs to be kept safe by both the organization that collects and stores it and the person who gave it to the organization and owns it. As such, in the event of a data breach, companies are not solely liable for any damage or loss that might occur. Despite this, it is still popular public opinion that the company must keep clients’ information safe and secure. So if you are a business owner, it would be in the best interest of everyone involved if you took the necessary steps to protect all the PII in your database.

You can easily do this by using a tried-and-tested Data Privacy Framework. Many are readily available, like the PCI DSS, the EU GDPR, and ISO 27000. We recommend a customized data protection framework that meets your data security needs and fits your company’s organizational structure..

Identifiable information: Creating Your Data Privacy Framework

Creating a data privacy system requires a dedicated IT team to build and manage it. Reputable managed services provider can create a solution to protect your data from nosy people. We can help you build a framework that fits your company and protects your sensitive data, from sales transactions to personal information. We will take a very close look at your company’s structure and design a system that will address all your specific needs and goals.

If you are ready to take the step to secure your data and be more protected from hackers, just let us know, and we will be there right away. In the meantime, if you think you have been hacked, here is our step-by-step guide to what you should do. Then call us so we can begin bolstering your defenses against cyberattacks.

Data Backup Issues: Are Your Backups Thorough and Secure?

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Securing your data backups is just as important as backing up your data in the first place.

Companies are increasingly recognizing the importance of regular data backups. Backups can spare you from costly, permanent data loss and damaging amounts of downtime in the event of an IT disaster.

Choosing the appropriate data backup solutions for your company can prove challenging. While working within your budget, you need to account for the volume and types of data, and figure out ways to protect the data from theft, corruption and loss. Your methods for backing up data should rest on clear, thoughtful IT policies.

A recent survey reported in an article from Business Cloud News highlights some of the problems with sub-standard data backups. The survey respondents were businesses that had lost important data. Although 86% of them were using some form of data backup at the time of their loss, their backup methods usually had flaws. They may have forgotten to include one of their devices in the backup process. Their backup method may have failed to work reliably. Sporadic backups may have resulted in outdated copies of the data. There are a number of possibilities for why data backups can fail.

Furthermore, even if the data get backed up reliably, it’s possible that the backup storage solution is insecure. And when you transfer data to a storage location, which may be in the cloud, you can lose or expose data in transmission. A recent CIO article points out how companies frequently use insecure methods for transmitting data in the cloud and may fail to enforce any file-sharing policies they’ve laid out for employees.

How can you strengthen your backup solutions?

So that you don’t wind up with the steep cost and profound frustration of losing data in spite of performing backups, the following are several tips for strengthening your backup solutions:

Automation. As long as there’s still human oversight and checks in place, you can rely more on automated processes to back up your data. Automated processes can get configured to operate on a regular schedule, reducing the chances that an employee may forget to perform a backup. Automation can also prevent various human errors, such as accidental file deletion during transfers.

Organization. Different kinds of data require different backup schedules and methods. For example, sensitive and critical information requires secure and frequent backups. Some types of data need to get stored in a way that allows for quick retrieval, while others can get archived more remotely. Furthermore, well-organized data backups mean that you always know the location of every file or application. Good organization is an important quality for rapid data restoration after an IT disaster.

Redundancies. Let’s say you’ve saved all your data backups in one location. What happens if there’s a massive power outage, equipment failure, fire or flood? Your data may get wiped out. You should have copies of valuable data in multiple locations. For example, high-quality cloud-based providers may store your data in more than one secure location, so that even if there’s an equipment failure or outage in one place, your information remains intact.

Encryption. Especially when it comes to sensitive or confidential information, use encrypted channels to transmit it and select storage locations with high levels of security. If you’re selecting a cloud-based program for data backups, look into the provider’s security policies and track record.

Policy enforcement. Without clear, enforceable policies or any cyber training, your employees may treat your data carelessly. Carelessness includes saving copies of sensitive data to insecure locations, emailing confidential files, and failing to check if data backups proceeded successfully.

Please contact us to further discuss the right data backup solutions for your business. We are dedicated to protecting your data and saving you time and money by coming up with the best backup methods that fit your budget.