Whether you own a small or large business, it is essential that you take the necessary measures to ensure that your data is properly protected. Data theft occurs on a daily basis in the business world, and it can have devastating consequences that last a long time.
Certain types of data, such as payment information and customer information, are not easily replaceable if they are lost or stolen, and you may suffer severe losses if they fall into the wrong hands.
Here is a look at how data loss can potentially hurt your business….
Financial Loss
Perhaps, the most important reason why you should implement an effective data security system is to prevent financial loss. Loss of customer data can make it difficult or impossible for you to contact certain customers, which can lead to reduced sales and profits.
If your customers suffer financial losses because their bank account or credit card information is stolen from your company, they may lose trust in you and decide to patronize your competitors instead.
Data theft can seriously undermine the reputation of your company and cause you to lose your competitive edge. Additionally, there is a chance that it may result in lawsuits, which can cost you substantially.
Loss of Productivity
In the information age, data is playing an increasingly important role in the efficiency of business operations. Businesses need to have easy access to their data in order to operate smoothly and maintain a high level of productivity.
If a data breach causes you to lose operational data, product information or client and supplier information, you and your employees may have to take a longer time to perform certain tasks. This can lead to a significant loss in productivity. In some cases, businesses have to shut down temporarily as a result of data theft.
Noncompliance to Data Security Regulations
In an effort to counter the rising prevalence of cybercrime, governments around the world have imposed regulations on electronic communications and data storage.
These regulations require businesses to retain and safeguard certain types of data for specified periods of time. Losing critical information is regarded as a violation of data protection regulations, and it may subject your company to fines or legal action.
How to Keep Your Data Safe?
According to an article entitled “Data Protection and Privacy: Balancing Security and Usability“, the ideal data security system is one that provides a high level of protection while keeping data easily accessible.
In order to strike the right balance between security and accessibility, you need to evaluate the risks and costs of various events that can lead to data loss, and focus on those that are more likely to happen.
Making preparations for every potential error and disaster can significantly reduce data accessibility.
Some of the measures that you can take to safeguard your data include preventing human errors and hardware problems, implementing a data protection policy, using stronger passwords, keeping your anti-malware solution up-to-date and using intrusion detection technology to keep hackers at bay.
Implementing an effective data protection system requires substantial time, effort and money, but it can be a worthwhile investment in the long run.
At least, it will give you greater peace of mind.
About the Author: John McMalcolm is a freelance writer who writes on a wide range of subjects, from social media marketing to Cloud computing.
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