How Can I Keep the “When” From Happening?
Lynn Bren, SDPAA Director of Member Services
Remember “it’s not if, it’s when?” And how Cyber-attacks are on the rise? You may have found yourself thinking, well, how do I keep all of this data safe? Is there anything that can be done to avoid some of these potential breaches? How do I get prepared in the event there is a breach?
Having Cyber Liability coverage will help get back on your feet after the incident occurs, but, with anything in life, taking steps to maintain a healthy electronic system is key to avoiding the ‘when’ from happening. Unfortunately, with ever changing technology, your information may never be completely safe, no matter how you are storing it, but there are steps you can take to help minimize your exposures. The suggestions below are some, but not all methods that can increase your data security.
Data Encryption Encrypting your data is one way to avoid having it stolen or ransomed. Encryption is the process of converting information or data into code, especially to prevent
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unauthorized access. Encryption is one method of protecting your information from someone other than the intended recipient or users. Many email systems offer encryption within the send process. Cloud storage, payment systems and even your entire operating system can be encrypted. Encryption isn’t fool-proof, but it will certainly take a hacker more time to access the information if there is encryption involved. Encryption can be as easy as password protecting a certain file or document, to completely locking down your entire file system. Encryption cannot be effective if your system is already infected with malware, if you leave your system unsecured in open spaces or if you have weak passwords.
Passwords Everyone loves to change their password every 90 days, right? And keeping those passwords on a sticky note taped to your computer monitor is A-OK, right? Weak passwords mean that it takes a hacker less or no time to access the data that your password is protecting. Having strong passwords is the least complicated thing a user can do to protect data. Keeping your passwords secure is crucial to
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