Top 5 client data protection tips to keep your customers safe

Five tips on how to incorporate client data protection

Conduct a data audit

When collecting client data, your organization needs to decide what types of information it will gather, and how it will store and use it. Collecting unnecessary data or gathering tons of data will certainly make you more vulnerable and an easy target for hackers which you want to avoid when trying to prove your credibility.

 Performing a data audit is a great way to efficiently store, organize and protect client information as well as discard any unnecessary data. For example, you should consider preparing a SOC 1 report to ensure your customers that their information is secured, especially if you are a company handling financial data. 

Limit access to data

Another safety measure you can practice is to limit access to your client data. After all, not everyone in your company should handle your customers’ personal and financial information because that can damage your business and also negatively affect your reputation. 

One effective way of doing so is to appoint a special data protection officer who will be responsible for keeping all customer information safe and will monitor any possible breaches. By reducing the number of employees and systems with access to such data you will also reduce the risk of getting hacked and dealing with errors.

Use smart password protection strategies

Probably the most obvious thing you can do to protect client data is to employ smart password protection strategies. In addition to creating strong passwords, you should also consider utilizing multifactor authentication and password managers to secure confidential client information and emails.

For even greater protection, you could look for various password management tools to use complex encryption and make your passwords unreadable for anyone who doesn’t have the encryption key. This can be an especially effective tool to protect your company from hackers.

Secure your devices

As a company owner, the chances are you will rarely be settled in one place. Depending on the nature of your business, you may be constantly on the go which means you may have to access your customer data through your smartphone, tablet, or laptop in order to do your job.

Unfortunately, accessing client data remotely can be risky especially if you are using public Wi-Fi where the chances of the network being secure are pretty low. That’s why you need to secure your devices as soon as possible to prevent hackers from accessing your data through unsecured public Wi-Fi networks. 

Keep your data protection software up to date

The importance of updating your data protection software regularly cannot be stressed enough. The thing is computer systems and software become more vulnerable to hacks when they are not updated with the latest software developments. Otherwise, you may be dealing with lots of bugs that can make your computer easily susceptible to breaches and your client data accessible to hackers. 

So, the next time your system asks for an update, make sure you accept it to prevent unauthorized access and possible attacks.

Conclusion

Since your clients are the driving force of your business, it’s your main responsibility to provide them with an excellent customer experience. One way of doing so is by taking proper safety measures in protecting their personal and financial information. From using smart password protection strategies to keeping your data software up to date, be sure to refer to our post and follow our tips to secure customer information properly and effectively.