Seven of the Best Strategies for Protecting Your Customers' Information

Emma Sturgis

February 03, 2015

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It only takes one minor oversight to expose a customer to risk of a data breach. Business owners who proactively seek out ways to better secure their customer data information are far less likely to experience a data breach. The following are some of the seven best strategies for protecting your customer’s information.

Encrypt

Encrypting customer data reduces risks of data being accessed. Sensitive customer data should always be encrypted properly with leading technologies, whenever transactions are made. Multi-step processes supported by the latest encryption technologies protect customers and business owners from data breaches.

Restrict Access

Identifying which parties require access to different data is another important step to take. If an employee only needs access to specific information to fulfill an order, then payment information and date of birth info may not be necessary. Information accessed by key personnel offsite should be made available with a secured VPN access option.

Shred Regularly

Failing to shred sensitive documents becomes a major potential security risk. This is especially true when the volume of information on paper increases to unmanageable levels. Making it a habit to evaluate a records retention policy regularly and assigning a shred schedule can reduce the volume of records kept on hand.

Collect What Is Necessary

Many companies are in the habit of collecting far more data than what’s necessary. A company can usually complete a transaction without collecting birthday, social security or other information. Determining specifically what is needed to collect and process transactions protects customers.

Install a Firewall

A solid firewall prevents criminals from gaining access to resources and other sensitive data. A good firewall can be a good defense against unauthorized hacking and access to resources. Consulting with a security firm or investing in quality firewall solutions can keep data safe.

Change Passwords

Passwords for an account should be changed immediately upon installation. Default passwords can be obtained easily by the most unskilled criminals. In addition to switching all of the default passwords, one should also consider a password rotation schedule that encourages the constant rotation of passwords.

Update

All operating systems, security software and anti-virus programs should be updated regularly. Spam filtering services and well as spyware detection programs can prevent inbound communications from compromising the system. These updates are often enhanced with each subsequent release.

Customer data can be better protected with these safeguards in place. Relentless hackers and criminals are committed to accessing sensitive consumer data from poorly prepared business owners. Greg Taslakian, who holds a Thomas Jefferson School of Law Master's in Law online degree, says businesses have a legal obligation to protect their customers’ data. Aside from this, it’s just good business to reward your customers’ trust by keeping their information safe. Every step taken to ramp up internal security efforts can protect business owners from costly, devastating breaches.