4.5 billion data records were exposed in the first half of 2019.
Your data is vital to your organization, and the last thing you want to happen is for it to fall into the wrong hands. Even though you may think your data is secure, careless employees can accidentally cause a data breach.
Read on for 5 of the ways your employees can accidentally cause a data leak, and what you can do to try and prevent it.
1. Sending To The Wrong People
Most businesses have had a situation where an employee accidentally sends an email with sensitive information to the wrong person. Even world leaders are not safe from this kind of mistake! We have all had that sinking feeling when we have clicked “reply all.” Imagine if there was confidential data attached.
That kind of error will likely have occurred at some point within your company. While it is only human error, it can cause distrust. Your customers might not feel safe that you can protect their confidential data. Are you taking full advantage of Data Loss Protection (DLP)?
2. Theft From Employee
Theft of a company item from an employee is unfortunate, but very common. This theft occurs when their laptops or phones with sensitive information get left out. It could be in a taxi or on the train, something simple like that.
It is easier to do than you think. Even large companies, like Apple, have had employees leave items behind. For example, one most recent and hazardous case was their 2018 iPhone model that got leaked.
3. Phishing
Phishing is a very common way people gain access to sensitive company information. Weak password protection makes it easy to hack into a computer to leak data.
These attacks happen when pop-ups on a website ask for the user to give their information, such as their bank login. If you put in your information, and the password isn’t changed afterward, this information can put data at risk.
4. Losing Paperwork
Another common example of a human error is something as simple as losing paperwork. This incident does not even need the employee to log into any computers. You are likely to have some sensitive documents lying around and these need to be protected.
If your employees do not take measures to protect them, it can lead to theft. Once in a thief’s possession, they can scan and upload them to the internet.
5. Weak Passwords
It might seem obvious, but weak passwords are still a common reason behind data leakage. Sometimes thieves get them from phishing scams and malware. Other times, they are too easy to guess.
To protect your business, review your mandatory password change management plan, and consider putting in place a multi-factor authentication for all employees and. This process is where they cannot log into the network without also putting in a code sent to their phone or second device. It will also tell you when people are attempting to log in.
Avoiding a Data Leak
As you can see, an employee can accidentally cause a major data leak easily.
There are always people looking to take advantage of careless employees. Just copying someone into an email or misplacing a folder can see confidential data pass to the wrong people!
Always make sure that your employees are trained to recognize scams and appreciate the importance of your data. Make sure to check out the best data security tools available to add extra data protection for your business instantly. Call TQI anytime for a review and assessment. We can make certain you are protected in the best, most efficient and least costly ways.