We’ve come to a point where your ability to protect your customers’ data privacy can make or break your business, so it’s crucial that you make cybersecurity your top priority in 2022. If you’re uncertain of what precautions you should implement or which solutions you must invest in, know that you’ve come to the right place. To point you in the right direction, we compiled effective tips on how to protect customer data.
Why should you secure customer data privacy?
There are several reasons, but these are some of the most important:
Customers’ trust
Consumers value their personal information enough that they are willing to stop doing business with companies over privacy concerns. If you want to gain your customers’ confidence, assure them that your business is capable of and is dedicated to protecting their privacy.
More data breaches
By September 30, 2021, there had been more data breaches reported than there were throughout 2020. Unfortunately, businesses may be liable if a data breach occurs. than the hackers should you suffer a data breach.
Increasing costs
Your business can lose millions of dollars because of a single data breach. Worse yet, the average cost of data breaches increases by 10% every year.
Penalties and lawsuits
If your business is in regulated sectors like healthcare, education, and finance, then a data breach could result in severe penalties from industry regulators. In severe cases, you may even have to face lawsuits from your stakeholders.
How can you secure customer data?
Following these tips is a step in the right direction no matter which industry you belong to:
Be transparent
Consumers are concerned about the type and quantity of personal information that companies collect from them, as well as how these data are used and protected. You owe it to your customers to inform them of details such as how much data you collect and what these are used for. Not only will this help put their minds at ease, but it will also make them trust your company more.
On a related note, you should immediately notify your customers should your company experience a data breach. This gives them time to secure their own data from their end and helps mitigate the damage caused by the cyber incident.
Comply with data privacy laws
To protect citizens’ privacy, the government enforces data protection laws that companies like yours need to follow. The United States does not have a nationwide regulation similar to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. This means you need to check which laws are in place in the state where your business operates. These are for Nebraska and Missouri, for instance.
As mentioned above, some industries are covered by data protection regulations. For example, the healthcare sector, including insurance providers, law firms, and other companies that handle patient data, are required to follow the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
Monitor your network
With cyberthreats becoming more and more sophisticated, it’s no longer enough to just install an antivirus program or a firewall. You need proactive and more advanced measures, such as 24/7 network monitoring, to secure your data.
Network monitors are IT professionals who put your IT systems under constant surveillance using advanced tools that detect and analyze potential threats. This way, threats are addressed before they can disrupt your operations or compromise your customers’ data. Your network is monitored all day, even outside of business hours, for maximum protection.
Test your IT security
You need to regularly audit your IT systems’ security to identify vulnerabilities that threat actors can exploit to penetrate your network and steal your data. Testing also ensures that your business is protected from the most recent cyberthreats.
Update your software
It’s possible that the software you use contains bugs and other vulnerabilities that cybercriminals can take advantage of to steal customer data from your business. When software developers discover these vulnerabilities, they immediately create and release patches and updates to fix these flaws. Make sure to install updates as soon as possible to reduce your risk of suffering a data breach.
Your customers are crucial to your business’s survival and growth, so you need to do what you can to protect their data and privacy. At [company_short], we can help you achieve this objective through the highest-class cybersecurity services provided by highly trained IT experts. Get to know our services by contacting us today.
