Businesses handle different types of data from various sources and in different forms, which are crucial for market analysis, informed decision-making and providing good customer service. This data can be highly confidential and sensitive. With the rise in data breaches, it is important for businesses – large, mid-sized or small – to protect their confidential data. If you are considering data entry outsourcing services, you need to ensure that the company you partner with has strict data security measures in place to protect the information you entrust them with.
According to a study by the Ponemon Institute, up to 69% of U.S. businesses reported data breaches in FY 2019, an increase from 50% in 2016. A data breach can damage your brand reputation, and result in loss of Intellectual Property and online vandalism. It can also lead to liability claims and cause huge financial losses.
Here are six top strategies organizations, including data entry outsourcing companies, can adopt to protect their confidential information:
- Use Strong Passwords: Passwords are created to protect access to data records. Data breaches mainly happen due to poor password practices. Even the best storage and encryption technologies can be easily undone by poor password practices. To ensure secure data storage, companies need to use strong passwords that are difficult to determine. They should not reuse the same passwords, as hackers are aware of this practice. It would be ideal to use a digital vault to store all passwords. Passwords should also be protected as carefully as confidential data. They should never be shared or left on slips of paper at workstations.
- Use Confidential Waste Bins and Shredders: Though digitization has impacted most businesses, they still deal with a lot of paperwork on a day-to-day basis. Companies need to make sure to dispose of sensitive documents by shredding them or using a confidential waste bin.
- Protected Network Connections: Reliable data entry companies invest in advanced antivirus software and secure firewalls to protect their systems and network. Many organizations implement network segregation so that hackers cannot instantly access all of the information at once.
- Two Factor Authentication: To add another layer of security – when certain risk factors are present – many services such as email and banking provide two factor authentication (2FA).
- Use of Biometrics: No matter how strong the passwords are, sometimes they might not be safe and strong enough to escape a hacker. Biometrics authentication is a great alternative. It uses a person’s iris or fingerprints to verify identity. Devices that allow fingerprint access can be given an extra layer of security with a lock code. However, this tool is not foolproof and therefore, new strategies are being introduced to ensure that data is collected applied in a way that ensures privacy for consumers and prevents hackers from gaining access to the data.
For most organizations, handling confidential information in data entry is a challenge. Many organizations are now outsourcing the task to data entry companies. Reliable companies take proper steps to prevent data breach and maintain the confidentiality of the information they handle for their clients. Their staff are trained on data security and kept up to date with the latest cybersecurity techniques and trends.
