Keeping the information and valuable data of your business private has to be one of the main concerns inside the mind of an owner. In modern times, it is not enough to keep the secrets inside a vault since having your information inside a computer or hard drive is a necessity, and at the same time, a vulnerability.
With the current pandemic landscape provoked by the emergence of the novel COVID-19, data has become drastically more vulnerable. Because of the crisis, the environment has switched the focus away from security and privacy procedures and protocols.
Some numbers to chew on
The sense of emergency that is brought to light by disasters can lead to quick and irrational decision-making, which could ultimately provoke a data breach. Having these in mind is important for businesses in order to stay informed of the current events without blinding themselves from the main point: keeping up with the data security news cycle. These are a few simple, useful practices that help in keeping up with this process.
42% percent (3 billion people!) of the global labor force is working while homebound on a full-time basis. Although these numbers will most likely fall over time, they make an immediate context in which new and dangerous security risks appear every day. If working as we know it is being redefined, there’s also an imperative necessity to redefine how your business deals with its security protocols.
1. Look out!
These may seem obvious but are astonishingly important to critically review third-party privacy policies with extreme detail, you have to revise thoroughly and make sure that the contracts line up to it. Also, keep in mind that these contracts need to align with your business privacy values. As a rule of thumb, terms of privacy should be written clearly, and be fairly easy to understand. If you find yourself reading a policy that is quite obscure, vague, or ambiguous, it can be a useful indicator of potential issues. Complex wording filled with technical terms that are followed up by alarming policies can be seen as an example of how well a company uses your data.
Read more: Why cybersecurity experts want more geospatial data
2. Build a triangle of trust
Big corporations and business owners alike have been monitoring their employees through tools that monitor online and offline status and can even take screenshots of employees’ monitors. A lot of them, not to say all of them, do it without their consent. This type of practice is not only concerning but they put your employees’ trust in the company at stake. It is more honest and cost-efficient to have the transparency to provide a privacy pledge in which the employees will feel safe and accounted for, if they are given the choice to allow the companies to examine productivity and software, making the privacy and security of said data the main priority.
3. Use software and apps that don’t collect user data
Although not all apps collect their data with misuse as intent, you need to be wary of the possibility of it. Therefore, it is best to look for apps that will only gather and collect data necessary to make their software work as intended, and stay away from those that require large amounts of data for multiple and/or unclear processes. If you are using some sort of app that tracks your location or online activity without needing to, it is best to find another one, since it shows poor privacy protocols. Or if you are using a Raspberry pi 4, make sure that the apps that are running don’t collect your personal data.
Staying safe is no small matter, and using a face shouldn’t be your only worried while quarantining. Being knowledgeable of what kind of information you are giving an app access to, or the terms and services you are accepting, is the responsibility of business owners and employees alike. Remember to inform yourself about what’s happening with data legislation and privacy, especially third-party ones. Don’t scan your employee’s online status and monitor them without their consent, since this will most likely hurt you in the long run, and it’s quite an immoral practice, which could even be considered borderline illegal. Be aware of your surroundings even at home, since as an employee, your house becomes an extension of the business space, and it should be respected like it.
Read more: Now, a first of its kind data integrity suite to address data accuracy issues
