You don’t want to think that your business could fall victim to a data breach, but the reality is it could. No business, no matter how big or small, is at risk. People make mistakes, cybercriminals find new strategies, and your company’s sensitive data could fall into the wrong hands. Your staff and clients are counting on you to keep their personal information safe, and that means being proactive about protecting that information. Waiting until something bad actually happens to develop a recovery plan is never a good idea.
Identify Your Risks
If you don’t know what you are protecting your business against, your protection plan will not be ready. Consider what systems would likely be targeted, what the impact would be if those systems were compromised, and what you would need to do to recover from that impact. There are systems available to help your business determine your risks and plan your recovery and security accordingly.
Implement a 3-2-1-1-0 Data Protection Strategy
This data protection strategy can help you get ahead of ransomware threats before they happen. The 3-2-1-1-0 strategy helps protect your data from loss. Here’s how it breaks down:
- 3 Different Copies of Data
- 2 Copies on Different Media
- 1 Copy that is Offsite
- 1 Copy that is Offline
- 0 (the offline copy) is used as a no-errors backup copy for Data Recovery
Keep Software and Systems Updated
Ransomware and cyber threats are continuously evolving. If you don’t evolve with them, you are more vulnerable. Make sure that your software and systems are updated as necessary to keep up with these potential threats. While updating your systems, it’s a good idea to look at your current data protection plan and address any weaknesses you find.
Have a Rapid Recovery System Ready to Go
You don’t want to wait until you’ve been the victim of a cyber attack to respond. Your business needs to develop a recovery plan so that you are ready to mobilize immediately after a threat is detected. Having a plan in place is critical for quick recovery with minimal impact. This plan should include steps to identify the threat, respond to the threat, and recover the data that was compromised. The plan should include a way to respond to your clients about their information and how you are protecting their best interests.
Educate Employees in Best Practices
Employee education is important, but it is not a one-time training exercise that can be checked off. Educating your employees in cyber security best practices should be an ongoing process that is monitored and updated as needed. When security is not at the front of your employee’s minds, it can be easy for them to cut corners. This is especially important when you have employees working remotely. Review your policies and best practices frequently and make sure your employees understand the importance of adhering to these processes.
You can never be too safe when it comes to safeguarding your critical systems and data. Ransomware will continue to evolve, so your data security measures will have to evolve to keep up. We help businesses protect their sensitive data through safe document destruction, physical destruction of hard drives, and old computer part recycling services in addition to proactive responses to cyber security and threats. To learn more about how we can help your business, contact AccuShred today.