How do Companies Protect Customer Information?

Last Updated on 2 years by Touhid

Information Security is refer to the process of preventing unauthorized access, modification, disruption or destruction of information. The primary aim of information security is to protect customer information, student data, financial information and employees information. In this post, we will discuss on how do companies protect customer information in order to keep business owner reputation.

How do Companies Protect Customer Information?

Information security is also protect the customers different types of data such as stores, creates, and receives, transactions, knowledge, communications, and infrastructure. So, it is very important for companies to protect customer information. Here are the some important tips on how do companies protect customer information:

1. Limit Access to Customer Information

It is not necessary to everyone in an organization access the customers’ personal information. If all employees can access the customer data, then there has a chance to compromise customer data. So, you have to create a plan or access limit, which employee can access the customer information.

2. Centralized monitoring system

You can develop a Centralized monitoring system in your companies to able to monitor who are accessing in your network, servers, database and printers. You can also track who are trying to unauthorized access into your application or data breach in your network.

3. Create a Strong Password

Typically, companies store their customer information’s digitally in a server. Unauthorized users can’t access the customer information for illegal activities. In that case, companies should use strong passwords for login in server and database to protect customer information.

We are using very weak passwords to remember in our memory like as date of birth, mobile no, employee id, and 123456, which is one of the prime reasons for leakage of customer information. So, create a strong password using letters, numbers, and special characters and change them on a regular basis (i.e., Between 30 and 180 days).

• The password length should at least 10 characters long.
• The password must have uppercase letters (A – Z), lowercase letters (a – z), numbers (0 – 9), and special character (@, #, $, %, ^, (,), &, *!).
• Example for strong password: F#a48^mn@2 is a strong password and standard password

Learn More about How to come up with a good password?

4. Install Antivirus software

Antivirus software is a program that helps to protect your computer data files and others important information from viruses, worms, Trojan horses, and others malware. It scans every file which comes through the Internet and helps to protect your customer data.

TIPS

• Companies can use server based antivirus software in order to protect customer database server and ensure that valuable information are secured.
• It is also suggested that companies can use one of the following professional anti-virus software:
  • Bitdefender
  • Norton
  • Kaspersky
  • Panda
  • ESET
  • Avast
  • AVG

5. Up To Date Operating System And Security Patch

Cyber security expert recommend that update your operating system, anti-malware with the latest security patches and drivers in order to secure customer information. It will ensure that your employee’s computer is up-to-date and free from viruses and other cyber threats. Here are the tips on how to update your operating system:

TIPS

• Open Windows Update by clicking the Start button > control panel > system and security > and clicking Windows Update.
• In the left pane, click Check for updates, and then wait while Windows looks for the latest updates for your computer.
• If any updates are found, then click Install updates.

6. Create a strong Privacy Policy

How do companies protect customer information? Every company should create a privacy policy to protect customer information. The policy will ensure that, how you are keeping customers personal data and which prevention method are you using from unauthorized access. In addition, customers need to know that you are able to protecting their information.

If your companies have a privacy policy, that will help to build consumer trust to keep your business reputation. And if you are failing to protect your customers’ personal data then it can affect customer’s trust in your business brand.

7. Educate Your Employees

Employees should be educated and trained about cyber threat, hacking and its protection mechanism because they are maintaining the customer information.

Every organization should have arranged awareness workshop and training program on data security and how to protect customer data. The workshop and training program may include the following topics:

• What is data security? And its importance.
• How to handle customer data?
• How to protect customer data?
• How to take backup and restore data?
• How to create a strong password?
• How to update software and OS?
• Cyber threats and its protection mechanism.

8. Data Backup

A data backup is another important tips on how do companies protect customer information. It is a process, which copying or archiving data files and folders for the purpose of being able to restore data in case of customer data loss. Data backup is secondary storage of data which is used for data protection.

Tips

• As part of a data backup plan, you may consider the following strategy:
  • Organizing the customer data files and folder
  • Use compression method
  • Determine backup schedule
  • Make sure backup data regularly
  • Determine your backup location
• It is better to secondary storage server should be installed in physically different location because if the primary server is down or destroy any reason then then secondary server will be perform.

9. Data Masking

Data masking is types of data protection mechanism in which hiding original data with modified content (such as characters or other data). It is the process of interchanging or modifying certain elements of the data, enabling security and it will ensures confidentiality of your customer information.

The main reason for using masking to a data field is to protect your sensitive data such as:

• Personally identifiable information
• Protected health information
• Payment card information
• Intellectual property and
• Login credentials

10. Data Encryption

You can use data encryption technique to protect customer information. Data encryption is a types data security measures which enable encryption and decryption of a data stream during transmission and storage. It can enable the encryption of your customer data, file, and others document.

There are different types of encryption methods used to encrypt and decrypt the data such as AES, MD5, and SHA 1.

Learn more about Data Encryption.

Finally,  we have discussed best tips on how do companies protect customer information. Every company should secure or protect their customer information to keep their business reputation. Hope the article will be helpful for a company who wants to stores and protect customer information.