3 Easy Ways to Safeguard Your Small Business Data

Picture this. You are a major retailer in 2017. You have finally launched a mobile app that customers love, and it is a hit.

Now fast forward. It is the middle of a pandemic, that same app suffers a data breach that exposes private customer information, and you are facing a class action suit. Large brands like Walgreens and Marriott have lived through publicly reported breaches that ended up splashed across the news.

The good news: if you take the right steps to safeguard your small business data, this is far less likely to happen to you. Here is how to protect yourself in a world that runs on data and technology.

Security matters for more than the front of your store. It matters for the data behind running your business. Whether you keep physical records or have moved everything to digital, security often comes as an afterthought. For many owners, security feels simple: keep records under lock and key, and never share the password.

That is no longer enough. There are simple steps you can take to keep private information private.

• Require multi-factor authentication.
• Prohibit credential sharing among employees.
• Back up your data.
• Only use software you trust.
• Audit frequently.

Hold your business to a high data security standard

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is the compliance standard for retaining and sharing business records among major corporations. As a small business, you are not required to meet these heavy requirements. It is still a good idea to come close to them, and there is no reason your business should not.

A quick snapshot

• Use encrypted files to store data.
• Use removable storage drives.
• Keep diligent digital standards.
• Audit frequently.

If your business still stores everything on paper, you have a longer road ahead to become compliant and ready for what is next.

Data privacy law is changing fast

The California Consumer Privacy Act is the clearest sign that the rules are shifting. According to the law itself, business owners must be transparent about the data they collect. On one side, you have to secure the data your business collects. On the other, you have to be more open about what you are collecting in the first place.

Here is a crash course on the difference between the two ideas.

• Data security is the set of policies and processes that dictate how your business collects, shares, and uses data.
• Data privacy is about the protection of the data a business gathers on its customers.

Both matter when you set out to protect your business, and the privacy landscape keeps evolving. That is why staying current is part of the job.

Virginia recently adopted legislation close to the California Consumer Privacy Act, and other states are considering similar moves. Many large tech companies oppose this shift because they view it as another layer of regulation and compliance to manage.

Lawmakers remain divided on exactly how much data can be used to market a business, and federal data legislation has been proposed to address these concerns. When it comes to data regulation, little is set in stone. That leaves it to the diligent small business owner to keep up with new policies as they arrive.

Protecting your data is not an afterthought

Every small business owner who cares about innovation should invest time in protecting customer data. Adopting new technology to keep up with the times is only the first step. The second step is putting the right safeguards in place. You want to earn your customers' trust as a business that knows how to innovate while staying safe.