5 Ways to Avoid Data Leak within your Company

Data leakage became a popular issue since technology has taken a decisive turn. Let’s see first when data leak happens:

• When the network security is weak and the system gets hacked
• When the system crashes and there are no backups
• When employees are taking confidential data outside the company

Employees are taking confidential data with them in order to get a job to a competitor or to sell it to other companies. Ponemon Institute conducted a national survey and they revealed that 59% of employees are stealing company data and 79% admitted that their employer do not know about it or does not agree.

But what should companies do to avoid this disaster? Nobody can ensure a 100% secure environment but there are still some important aspects that can help companies to avoid data leak:

1. Create clear policies and procedures signed by employees where they agree they will never take confidential or sensitive information after leaving their work place. Also, there must be stated in these policies that they are not allowed to access or use the information for personal interest.
2. When an employee is preparing to leave the company, his activity and access to the network/system should be monitored. Once the employee leaves, the company should ensure that his access to the network has been terminated. It’s also important to check information on his computer and documents transferred on remote devices.



3. Implement VPN (Virtual private network) to decrease hackers’ attacks. VPNs allow remote access to the network and the information sent/received is encrypted.
4. Secure the network :
   • Install Antivirus on computers
   • Do backups periodically
   • Use encryption
   • Scan regularly for exploits
5. Install Internet filter to restrict access to web. Internet filters allows companies to block employees’ access to inappropriate web pages and to reduce files’ download that might slow down the network, expose the company to security threats and illegal activities.

Companies are facing many challenges and if there is something that can be improved regarding the information’s security why not doing it? In the end, information is critical for the business’ growth.

Guest Writer : Elisabeta Ghidiu is a Marketing Assistant, Electronic Commerce Department for cyclope-series.com which offers a useful Cyclope Employee Monitoring Software for Organizations in order to find the productivity of their staff.