4 Reasons Why Your Company Needs a Data Protection Plan

Data protection is the combination of policies, procedures, and technologies you have in place to ensure that confidential information isn’t accessed by anybody without proper authorization. Every business should have a solid data protection plan in place. This plan protects both you and your customers.

Unfortunately, many businesses don’t have a data protection plan, or the one they have is inadequate. If you’ve been holding off on creating a data protection plan for any reason, here are 4 reasons to take action today:

1. You Are Liable for the Information You Collect

If you collect confidential or personally identifying information (PII) from customers, business associates, or others, you are responsible for safeguarding that information.

This responsibility exists even if you outsource the collection or storage processes. Should an unauthorized person or entity access any confidential information, you may very likely be held accountable for any negative outcomes.

2. Theft of Data Is More Common with Small Business

The chances are that you’ve read about major corporations being targeted by hackers and having their customers’ information compromised. You may have even received a notification from a store, bank, or credit card company letting you know that your data has been breached.

Unfortunately, these news stories can be misleading. While it makes the news when a multi-billion dollar company is hacked, most data theft happens to small businesses. 58% of small businesses have suffered some form of data or security breach.

3. Data Loss Can be Financially Devastating

Sadly, when data is lost or corrupted, the outcome can be financially devastating. A business that is targeted may suffer irreparable damage to its reputation. This damage may lead to a significant loss of business.

Those are just two of the costs your business may encounter. There are also significant expenses involved in investigating the breach, containing the issue, and determining who was impacted. Your company may also face civil lawsuits and legal penalties. Many businesses simply wouldn’t survive a data loss.

4. The Risk of Data Breach Is Always Present

Ideally, your company has a data protection plan right now. If not, the second-best option is to get started on a plan immediately.

There is no “low risk” time for any business when it comes to data risk, and there are also no industries that are considered to be safe from loss of — or unauthorized access to — confidential information. Because of this, it is never wise to delay creating a data plan or continue with a plan that isn’t adequate.

SEAM Helps Business with Data Protection

Data destruction is a key component of any data protection plan. Any business that has to discard PII or other confidential information must do so responsibly. SEAM has data destruction processes that include media and hard drive shredding, paper shredding and hard drive wiping.

SEAM will work with your business in North Dakota or South Dakota to incorporate data destruction into your plan to protect confidential data. Contact us if you are in the Sioux Falls area and want to prevent data loss.