The internet is one of the greatest inventions, providing information and services to billions. Unfortunately, along with this comes risks, threats that can be a nightmare. The threats are very real; your data could be stolen or compromised in many ways – these dangers don’t just impact individuals…they impact businesses as well. Everyone needs to secure their online data in order to protect their personal information, privacy and finances.
Tips to Protect Personal Data
Choose a Secure Password
A strong secure password is one that has special characters (for example &, @), numbers (for example 1, 3 or 5), upper and lower case letters (for example A, B C) and does not contain any personal information (such as your name, age or date of birth). Also, although it is hard, try to choose different passwords for different websites, so you do not sacrifice all of your logins if your password for one site is somehow exposed to hackers.
Avoid Storing Details Online
If you need to store secure details regarding accounts (for example credit card numbers), then avoid putting them out in the public domain. Instead, use encrypted secure data storage devices such as a flash drive that can be kept secure.
Send Secure Emails
When sending emails, ensure that you use a secure email client (such as Gmail or Hotmail) that has been created for the purpose of private communications. It is also recommended to create secure passwords with a variety of letters and numbers before setting up your account, as mentioned in the first tip.
Use Secure Websites
When visiting websites that involve payment of any kind, always look for a secure sign to be displayed in the address bar. If it does not contain a secure certificate then you should avoid making the purchase. You can also check if the website has an SSL certificate installed by clicking on More Info while you are on the site and looking at the details.
Prepare for the Worst
If you secure your online data in advance, then should a threat occur you will not have left yourself liable. Keep back ups of all important files that are stored on computers and external hard drives. It is also essential to secure back up copies of essential documents that include your identity, such as birth certificates and passports. These locations could be anywhere, including storage vaults or lockers at the bank to secure fireproof safes in your homes.
Tips To Protect Company Data
Single Sign-On (SSO) & Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Both of these secure authentication solutions protect user logins across the enterprise, with SSO reducing help desk calls & MFA preventing unauthorized access by bad guys.
SSO has been the solution of choice for organizations to secure user logins & access to IT resources since the turn of the millennium. With SSO, an organization’s employees use access an application via a secure authentication server. This method also acts as a backup authentication in case user passwords are lost or forgotten, enabling access with a password reset utility.
In addition, SSO can be integrated with key enterprise software applications such as a CRM (Customer Relationship Management), HRIS (Human Resources Information Systems) and an ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning).
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is a secure authentication solution that uses a combination of two or more secure factors to prove you are who you say you are. MFA is commonly used in financial services & healthcare organizations as well as government agencies, all of which need the highest levels of security to protect sensitive information.
With secure MFA, the user provides an additional form of authentication when signing in – usually with something you have (ex. your smartphone) and something you know (security questions).
Typically, users log into a web portal using their password at the first stage of login. At the second stage, the user enters a secure password or secure biometrics in order to gain access to company systems and resources. Multi-factor authentication is used by many individuals as well, not just companies.
Unified Access Management (UAM)
Unified Access Management allows secure access to multiple applications and data resources using access points such as web servers, virtual private networks and secure remote desktops.
While UAM also offers SSO capabilities, it acts more as an enterprise access management solution, which increases overall security by managing access to a company’s multiple homegrown and SaaS platforms.
Unified Access Management gives administrators control over access to all of the applications and data resources in its enterprise environment, including remote access. In addition, it provides authentication for users by using secure tokens that can be used on devices such as mobile phones and smart cards.
UAM also gives administrators the option to enforce authentication by using secure multi-factor authentication, biometrics, or PINs in order to gain access to enterprise resources.
Sunvera Software develops next-level software applications from start-to-finish. Schedule a free 30-minute call with us to discuss your business, or you can give us a call at (949) 284-6300.
