5 Proactive Measures to Ward Off the Most Common FM Data Breaches

Your company data is incredibly precious. However, a lot of companies don’t spend the proper amount of time protecting their data. Often, when company data is compromised, it could have been prevented by following proper security procedures.

As a facility manager, keeping company data safe should be a priority. To avoid any emergencies that will add to your already overflowing to-do list, it’s crucial you take proactive measures.

1. Avoid malicious cyber attacks

Malicious attacks are still one of the main ways that data breaches occur. It’s very difficult to protect against every hacking attempt since they can occur in emails, on websites or in downloads and more. However, there are certain things you can do.

For instance, you can reinforce your internal security systems by installing firewalls and creating unique passwords to establish additional layers of security. It’s also important to do regular system scans to ensure no malware is installed on your computers and local systems. Hold a basic cybersecurity training session so your staff understand how these attacks occur and know not to open or download suspicious emails.

2. Prevent physical loss or theft

Theft, or the physical loss of goods, is a common way to lose data. This can occur in many situations. Someone could steal a laptop, an external hard drive or even something as small as a flash drive from your office.

To prevent against physical theft, designate certain devices as work-only. For example, some company laptops, computers and external hard drives should never leave the office. Better yet, use a facilities management system like OfficeSpace Software to help track your company-wide resources and assets easily. 

Physical loss doesn’t always entail theft, though. Data can become compromised or lost if your equipment ends up damaged or corrupted. For this reason, make sure to always back up data in multiple locations, including both the cloud and external hard drives.

3. Protect against system or OS vulnerabilities

Every year, attack methods become more advanced as hackers find new ways to access your software and operating systems. To prevent these attacks, make sure you keep your software up-to-date and install any necessary patches.

It’s also useful to establish a regular maintenance schedule that reminds you to check for system and software updates, and schedule regular maintenance for all of your technology. 

4. Prevent accidental data loss

According to a 2014 Verizon Data Breach Investigations report, accidental data breaches due to employee error accounted for 2% of all data breaches. This number might seem small; however, any loss of sensitive data can be problematic. Even something as small as sending an internal document to the wrong recipient can have large consequences, depending on the information that’s been shared.

To prevent this situation from happening, create proper email and security protocols for document sharing for your team to follow. Something as simple as reminding your staff to double check the recipient’s address and any attachments before hitting send can help avoid mishaps. 

Also, definitely make sure you have some type of data breach insurance, whether your corporate or a small business.  

5. Establish strong security controls

One of the most common forms of data breaches occur as a result of having weak security controls in place. Frequent problems include:

•  Failure to enforce mobile security protocols
•  No restricted data access to specific departments and individuals
•  Weak and static usernames and passwords

You’ll need to have proper procedures in place that outline mobile security measures, map out your password policy and only allow certain departments to have access to relevant data.

Data breach prevention is necessary for any business. Ensuring you have system firewalls as well as updated software and security protocols in place will go a long way towards averting any future unfortunate incidents. If you have any further suggestions to protect Facility Managers against Security Data Breaches, please share them below in the comments.