Despite the vigilance of many small businesses, sometimes intellectual property goes missing. This happens most often to businesses that took the time and energy to ensure everything was safe, from data to the front doors, but neglected to go a step further and protect intellectual property as well. Of course you can protect data through traditional means such as trademarks and patents, but what about the digital files that contain your intellectual data; what ensures they are not stolen? Here are some tips on how to protect one of your most valuable assets.
Don’t Forget the Easy Protection Layers
Many businesses don’t protect themselves against the most common ways that data is stolen: cyber attacks. Small business is often the target of such attacks because they don’t have defenses in place. In fact, some 90% of attacks that have happened in the past decade could have been detected if basic virus detection software had been put in place first.
Make Your Passwords Strong
The longer and more complicated the password, the harder it is to guess. Even if a hacker manages to steal an encrypted password from the system, if it’s complicated, it can be almost impossible to crack. Most of the time, the hacker will move onto another, easier password to solve, leaving your data safe. Remember to tell all of your employees to protect the data not only on their computers, but their tablets and cell phones as well.
Prepare for Worst Case Scenario
Data breaches do happen, unfortunately. The only thing you can do to make sure they don’t completely ruin your business is to have a plan. If a breach of sensitive data happens, make sure you alert the correct authorities so they can find whoever did it. Make sure that you beef up your security, change all of your passwords, and recover what data you can if your systems are compromised. Make sure your clients know what happened, and tell them what they need to do as soon as you can.
