{"id":916555,"date":"2018-11-16T05:10:33","date_gmt":"2018-11-16T13:10:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/customerthink.com\/?p=916555"},"modified":"2018-11-16T05:10:33","modified_gmt":"2018-11-16T13:10:33","slug":"best-practices-for-protecting-customer-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customerthink.com\/best-practices-for-protecting-customer-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Practices For Protecting Customer Data"},"content":{"rendered":"
We live in a world of big data. Between website cookies and credit card information, customer information is gathered and shared in more ways than ever before. Customers know that their data is collected while they browse online, and some customers have awareness of how much information they actually give away<\/a> just by their basic internet history, but few customers realize how much of that information is stored and used. Customers are focused on the obvious problems, like social security numbers and credit card information. <\/p>\n Companies that want to maintain a positive reputation as they move into the next phase of data collection and usage need to have a solid plan for protecting the customer data they gather. They need to be clear about what they\u2019re keeping, why they\u2019re using it, and how it\u2019s protected. When they can do that, customers are going to be much more willing to trust them with their data<\/a>. <\/p>\n Here are some key best practices for protecting customer data. <\/p>\n When everything seems potentially usable, it can be tempting for a company to keep all the data it can gather from a customer. The more data that is gathered, however, the more data needs to be protected. A company can also make itself a more attractive target if it\u2019s storing a vast wealth of information, versus a small amount of data. <\/p>\n In 2018 the Congress passed the Data Breach Prevention and Compensation Act<\/a> that is designed to hold companies accountable in the event of any future data breaches. So, when you\u2019re considering customer data best practices, storing only what you know you need and will act on is a good step in the right direction. <\/p>\n For many small and medium sized businesses, maintaining a full time IT staff dedicated to data protection isn\u2019t financially reasonable<\/a>. For digital businesses, who often collect credit card information with every purchase, it can make sense to outsource payment processing. Using a third-party payment processor both tells the customer that they are not giving their information to a new organization and relieves the problem of storing a customer\u2019s payment information safely. <\/p>\n Unless a company can support a top-of-the-line data center that will withstand malicious attacks, both digital and brick-and-mortar businesses should consider off-site data storage. Cloud computing is often thought of as less secure<\/a> than physical servers onsite, but with the rapidly evolving nature of technology and cyber-attacks, this is no longer true. Companies that are dedicated to safe data storage can more easily focus on maintaining the necessary protections. <\/p>\n One of the simplest ways to keep data safe onsite is to make sure that technology stays up to date. This doesn\u2019t need to mean updated computers every other iteration. It does mean making sure that there is solid anti-virus software on all computers, and that employees are allowing virus updates to happen as they\u2019re recommended by the OS. Alternatively, an IT manager can push out an anti-virus update to all computers at once. <\/p>\n Companies should also have protocols for removing old employee access accounts as soon as the person has left the company. Inactive accounts are an easy way for hackers to get inside the company\u2019s computer system and wreak havoc. <\/p>\nDon\u2019t Store What You Don\u2019t Need<\/h2>\n
Consider Outsourcing<\/h2>\n
Keep Technology Up To Date<\/h2>\n
Let Customers Know What You\u2019re Keeping<\/h2>\n