Studies conducted by IBM and the Ponemon Institute have shown data breaches have increased 23 percent over the past two years, costing companies close to $3.79 million on average this year alone. With data breaches reaching an all-time high, all companies should implement a data security plan to help prevent data breach attacks.
When it comes to creating a data security plan, it’s important that employees are on the same page. You need to make sure they understand every part of the process, including prevention and what to do in the event a data breach occurs. Even with the best data security plan, however, there are still data security risks you may not be aware of.
According to an article by The Entrepreneur, your employees could be making some critical mistakes and unintentionally sabotaging your company’s data security in the process. Here are some ways your employees could be putting your company at risk:
- Stepping away from their workstation: Whenever employees step away from their desks they risk making data accessible to anyone in the room. You need to train your employees on the importance of confidential information and data security. There are different data management programs you can utilize that automatically logout users after a certain amount of time to help keep your data safer.
- Sharing files via email or other collaborative tools: Sharing information via email has become almost second nature for companies, but you need to be careful on what type of information you are sharing. Emails and other dropbox tools aren’t always the most secure and run the risk of making your files available to unknown third parties. Train your employees on what information is sharable and what is confidential. You should only be sharing information that can be shared with the public.
- Accessing files from non-secure devices: In a world where we juggle tablets, smartphones, laptops and computers, it can be hard to know what devices are secure enough for work’s private information. Teach your employees about which devices have security software built in and which devices are acceptable for work.
Educating your employees on the importance and risks associated with data security is pivotal for your company’s success. One mistake is all it takes in the world of data breaches.
For more ways your employees could be unintentionally sabotaging your data security read the full article on The Entrepreneur.
