Data security is vital to establishing trust among consumers as the digital world is becoming increasingly interconnected. Businesses that excel in this area have an advantage over competitors. Consumers are expecting that their companies will protect and secure their personal information. This article explores ten key concepts that every business must know and follow to protect customer data.
Personal information is the most basic form of customer data. It includes any information that can be used to identify an individual. This includes names and telephone numbers. However, there are more sensitive kinds of data that could lead to severe consequences if it is in the incorrect hands, for example, the Social Security number or credit card number. Personal information that is sensitive (SPI) also includes ethnic or racial background or sexual orientation, and other sensitive information.
SPI is a tool that can be used to commit identity theft, which poses an extremely risk to the personal and financial health. If hackers acquire such information they can use it to apply for credit cards or loans under the victim’s name and leave them with a devastating impact.
To minimize the chance of data breaches, businesses should restrict the amount of SPI they collect and only make use of it for legitimate uses. They should also use encryption on their servers as well as in transit to make sure that the data cannot be read by hackers. They should also have two-factor authentication and password management tools to limit the chance of data breaches caused by compromised passwords.
