Empowering Your Staff to Take Care of Company Data

Few things are more important to your company than your data. Not only does it help your business to function and grow, but it also helps you to engage with your customers and give them what they want. However, because of its value, it can be a great asset to others who want to use it criminally. It is important that your employees handle and store the data they use correctly to ensure it stays secure.

Data Policy

Many companies believe that their workers are vital to their data security. One of the ways that you can get the importance of using data correctly to your employees is through a company data policy. In it, you need to set out why it is so important to keep data safe and the implications if it is misused. In the policy, you can set out where data should be stored and how long it’s to be kept before being destroyed. The policy should be disseminated to all your staff so that they are aware, that way, if there is a breach, the workers know what the repercussions will be.

Training

As well as setting up a policy on data use, you also need to train your workers on the best practices for storing and using data. They should be shown where to store information and the importance of not letting others see any personal information from a customer if they don’t need to see it. They also need to be advised about protecting their passwords and not letting others know what they are. Part of this training should also include how to transport data outside of the office. These occasions should be kept to a minimum; however, if it needs to be done, employees should be briefed on how to keep it safe in transit.

Reporting Suspicious Activity

Your workers are the most reliable and available witnesses to suspicious activity that might happen at the company. For this reason, you should ensure that they know they can come to you or a manager in confidence if they suspect anything. If there is a suspicion, then there should be a clear policy to ensure that it is investigated correctly. It could involve locking the worker’s profile, taking statements, and gathering forensic digital evidence with the help of an outside specialist company. There are plenty of e-discovery companies out there whose services are available to those who need assistance looking into digitally stored information for legal purposes. They focus on the best approach to preserve, investigate and present the electronically stored information necessary to your legal case. Have a look at companies such as Eide Bailly. if you’re looking for any further information. As well as reporting anything suspicious from inside the company, you should also ask your employees to report anything they receive from outside. It could include a suspicious email or a file sent by someone they don’t know. Your anti-virus software should scan any email attachments, but it is best to advise your workers not to open them.

It is important to nurture a feeling of trust and pride in your workers; they should feel that you and your managers support and respect their opinions. It not only helps with the running of the company, but it will also encourage a sense of loyalty to your business that should help when problems arise.