
How staff training can help prevent a data breach
Concerned about how to prevent a data breach happening to your company?
Many businesses are concerned about the risk of a data breach. They take extensive steps to secure and protect their company data, staff and customers. These can include the following:
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- Secure shredding
- Robust firewalls
- IT security updates
But did you know that the number 1 cause of a data breach is human error? One simple way to prevent a data breach is by carrying out regular training for all employees. Data breach is a significant risk and can be costly in terms of reputation and fines. It is an issue that must be taken seriously.
So how does staff training prevent a data breach?
Appoint a data chief
To comply with GDPR, all companies should have a designated data manager who is responsible for handling all queries, reporting all data breaches and responsible for training and information.
Create a data security policy
This is one of the most important actions you can take in the fight against data hackers. If staff have a handbook they can refer to, it helps clarify any confusion around how to react to an event.
Host regular group training sessions
Create a schedule for data security training. It may just be once a year, but as guidelines evolve, it’s essential to keep all employees up to date with how to prevent and handle a breach. You could create real business scenarios to help staff visualise the situations they may find themselves in. These will be unique to your company. Some possible data risks may be:
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- Not having a clear desk – leaving documents exposed
- Not using shredding bins to dispose of documents
- Moving data or documents between home and the office
- Clicking on phishing emails
- Using weak passwords
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Remember to include new employees in training sessions
Sometimes it’s easy to overlook new employees regarding essential training, but they need to be the first to be informed of company policy. Many data breaches occur due to high level of staff turnover and time pressures. New employees may be naïve about how to handle confidential data correctly so training in the first instance is paramount.
It doesn’t have to be a chore to keep staff updated on data security. A lot of it is common sense and can be easily maintained with the correct programme of training and regular staff updates.
If you need help keeping your workplace data security conscious, then read our Information Security Best Practices document. Find out how The Shredding Alliance’s nationwide shredding service will keep your business data secure.