The data that companies collect and maintain is as valuable as their physical assets. Vendors need to be more careful than other entrepreneurs when it comes to keeping business data protected.
After all, all their commercial activities and profits are based on client/customer information, which they can’t afford to misplace or lose!
Here are 6 simple steps to improve your data security as a vendor:
1. Give Attention to Security Defaults
Develop a habit of setting the selection defaults to the securest choice. This will help prevent any accidental confirmations that can ruin your data. For example, keep the defaults set to “NO” for all potentially risky options such as “Permanently delete all my hard work now?” or “Install virus now?”
2. Enable Drive Encryption
Once you’ve enabled drive encryption, the process of moving your data from one system to another will never dodge the central security mechanism to access any crucial data that’s usable. In case if you forget your login credentials on one computer, you can access your files by simply plugging your drive into some other computer that is password-free.
3. Set SSL to Default
Keep secure browsing on all the websites that you need to visit frequently enabled by default. Also, keep information exchange on these websites fully encrypted. If you want to avoid encryption only because secure browsing is slow, don’t do that. Going slow is always a better option than losing your crucial information.
4. Bank on Two-Factor Authentication
The two-factor authentication method alerts you for authorization every time an attempt is made to access your account anywhere on the web. For example, when you try to logon to your bank’s webpage, it will ask you to enter a transaction PIN that is sent to your phone via SMS. This authentication process can be of great help when the person who’s attempting to login is not you!
5. ActivateUnified Extensible Firmware Interface
UEFI helps you prevent a system’s accidental motherboard program updates, especially from an unknown location or source. These updates can corrupts your motherboard and eventually damage the entire device. Once UEFI is activated, every motherboard program update will require the signed update package from the original manufacturer.
6. Establish an Authentic Password Strategy
Although it may sound cliché, the idea of using fairly complicated passwords is highly effective when it comes to protecting business data. Avoid using simple and easily breakable passwords. Also, keep changing all your passwords after regular time intervals, preferably once in every three month.
