In this blog article you will discover practical tips on how to implement a data privacy and protection strategy for remote teams.
Technology evolves with each passing day, and you need to keep updating your systems.
Businesses lose millions of dollars every day to data hacks and leaks. In 2022, companies experienced more than 16 million data records worldwide. The statistics give a glimpse of how businesses are vulnerable to data breaches.
What are you doing to protect your business from data breaches? Do you have a data privacy and protection plan for your remote teams? Here are practical tips on how to implement a data privacy and protection strategy for remote teams.
Identify Sensitive Data
Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provide a framework to measure data sensitivity. To clearly understand the sensitivity of the data, you need to:
- Consider the confidentiality of the data
- Its integrity
- If the data is available to the public
Also, ask yourself what would happen to the consumers in case of a data leak. Would they trust your brand?
Classify Data
Data is classified based on their sensitivity. We have low, medium, and highly sensitive data.
- High-sensitivity data include intellectual property, financial records, and authentication data, and if compromised, the result would be catastrophic to individuals or organizations.
- Medium sensitivity data is intended for internal use only, and it would impact the organization or employees if compromised.
- Low-sensitivity data is meant for public use and does not have much impact since it is intended for the public.
Develop Policies and Procedures
Policies and procedures for handling sensitive data should be developed and communicated to employees working remotely. Ensure each employee understands the company’s policy and procedures
Review the policies once in a while because technology changes every day.
Educate Employees
More than 60% of breaches happen due to human error. Security-focused training is an effective way to reduce human error. Areas to focus on should be not using simple passwords.
Sensitize your remote team on the repercussion of using personal devices for work-related tasks because they may be vulnerable to attacks. Additionally, your team should ensure their connection is secure before going online
Have training sessions to cushion your remote team about popular methods used by hackers to access data, such as:
- Phishing (it’s the most popular)
- Social engineering
- Key loggers
- DOS (Denial of Service)
- Viruses and Trojans
Use Encryption
All data should have end-to-end encryption, whether at rest or in transit. Adopt compatible software that offers encryption without affecting the performance of your systems.
Conduct risk assessment through a professional pen tester to help identify weaknesses and vulnerabilities in your systems.
It’s normal for technology to fail, and you should always be prepared. Use a secure backup where you can store your company’s data.
Keep Your Data Safe Today
Technology is evolving at an anticipated speed. Each day businesses face external threats from hackers who are trying to steal private data. Many companies have collapsed due to data breaches, and you’ll want to protect yourself and your remote team.
When working with a remote team, ensure you follow these tips to implement data privacy and protection. Identify sensitive data, classify data, develop policies and procedures, educate employees, and finally encrypt your data, whether at rest or in transit.