How to Successfully Secure Your Workplace

Keeping your workplace secure is not only a job for your security and IT team. Since we now work in digitally-connected workplaces, we need to feel the responsibility to protect any sensitive information we gather at work. No matter what the size of the company you work for is, every business faces certain security challenges, especially when using the web and the cloud daily work tasks.

This is why you need to be proactive and smart when it comes to keeping all that sensitive information secure, whether that is the information of your employees and clients, your own personal information or the intellectual property of the company. Here are a couple of things that will help you keep your company safe from any security threats and make your office a more secure place.

Know What You Need To Protect

This is the first step in creating a more aware workplace; the understanding of things that need to be protected, especially when it comes to small businesses that may not have a clear security plan. You need to determine the passwords to your systems and accounts, patient data, credit card information or employee records that need protection. Once you and your team are aware of what is important, you can all be more cautious in keeping that information safe.

Look Out For the Emails

You always need to be aware what the sources of the emails you receive are. Double-checking the sender is important, even if the email is sent by someone who you typically trust. If there is an attachment that seems strange, do not click on it, and when in doubt, always ask someone who is above you if they know what that email is about. Never send out any sensitive data by email, like personal information or any kind of password. Any odd and confusing emails should be deleted immediately and only the encrypted file service needs to be used when sending out sensitive information. If you have a WordPress website you should watch for any potential security threats when it comes to login credentials and other security breaches. 

Lock Your Computer

The best way to protect the information that is on your computer is setting it to go on a timeout after a couple of minutes of inactivity. This way, you will keep all those prying eyes off and prevent them from abusing your workstation. There are many other ways to secure your computer, and this is crucial because it only takes a moment for someone to install malicious software on your computer. Always lock your machine and use strong passwords.

Be Careful With USBs

There will be times when you will want to do some work at home so, naturally, you will reach out for a USB to transfer all the data you are going to need to later. This is where you need to be careful, because USB drives can be used to transfer malicious programs and files, so make sure that you always check.

Different Account, Different Password

We all know that we need to use passwords that are strong, but many of us don’t know that for it is recommended to use a different password for a different account. This does not mean that you should just add a number or a symbol at the end of the same password you are using on your every account. Every account, from your Facebook, email or banking needs to have a different password that will be random and long.

Some employees love to put their passwords on sticky notes around their office, like under the keyboard or on the computer monitor. This is a huge security risk, so avoid doing these kinds of things. And remember, if you have accidentally clicked on the link that leads to a malicious website, or entered your password and username on a website that seems to be unsecure, report it immediately to your security or IT team so that someone can take a look. If you try to hide it yourself, that will only lead to serious consequences that can create major security threats that can seriously affect your company.

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