Learn About The Essential Steps To Prevent Data Breaches

If you run a small business, you might not know the ins and outs of data protection and data security. But if you handle the personal data of UK residents, then you need to make sure that all of your policies and actions are in line with the Data Protection Act (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR).

Failure to do so can result in a data breach, and you could be liable. Personal data breaches can have devastating effects on those involved, causing them psychological and financial harm. They may also choose to make a data breach claim against your company.

In this guide, we’ll discuss how you, as a business, can take steps to prevent data breaches from occurring within your organisation. Keep reading to learn more. Or, if you’ve been affected by a personal data breach, get in touch with our team by:

Personal records containing sensitive information sitting on a desk

What Are 10 Steps To Prevent Data Breaches In Your Small Business? 

So, what steps could you take to help prevent data breaches in your small business? Below, we have laid out steps your organisation could take to help with data breach prevention:

Make Sure Personal Data Is Stored Securely 

Making sure that personal data is stored securely, both online and offline, is very important in helping prevent data breaches happen. This might include making sure physical employee files are stored in a locked filing cabinet. Likewise, digital files should be encrypted when necessary, and stored on secure servers to help reduce the risk of data breach attacks from accessing personal information. Additionally, any personal data stored digitally could require multi-factor authentication to help minimise the risk of unauthorised people accessing it.

Name Work Documents Clearly and Consistently 

Naming documents clearly and consistently can help prevent accidental data breaches. It could help with minimising the risk of the wrong files being sent to the wrong people. It also makes files easier to find if you need to access certain information.

Make Sure To Redact Personal Data 

If you receive a request for information and need to send people copies of their data, it might contain the personal data of other people.

In these cases, you need to make sure that data belonging to others is either removed or redacted. You can minimise the risk of a data protection breach by making sure that these redactions can’t be uncovered or recovered with different software.

Train Your Staff On How To Manage Personal Data 

Reduce data breach risks at work by training your staff on how to manage personal data. It’s not just your responsibility to prevent breaches of the UK GDPR and DPA; providing proper training on things like handling and storing personal data, destroying it, accessing it and moving it can help minimise the risk of a breach.

This training should also include what to do in the event of a breach, including when to report a breach, and what policies are in place.

Keep reading to learn more about the steps to prevent data breaches that your business could take.

An employee deals with a security incident involving critical data with their laptop

Keep Software Up To Date 

Making sure that software is up to date is important because hackers and cybercriminals can exploit flaws in out-of-date programs and use these to access your systems. Regularly check your software and make sure there are no updates needed to help reduce the risk of cyber data breach incidents.

Have A Clear Desk Policy 

A clear desk policy means that employees do not keep personal data out and accessible on their desks. For example, this can include making sure no-one has a sticky note on their computer containing their passwords. Or, this could look like contracts and documents containing personal data left outside of a locked drawer.

Continue reading for more information on the steps to prevent data breaches that small businesses can take.

Files containing customer data and sensitive data labelled confidential

Keep Customer Details Up To Date 

If you keep customer details, make sure that they are up-to-date. If a customer contacts you and asks to change their address or phone number, make sure to correct your records as soon as possible. It can also be helpful to ask your customers if their information is correct regularly.

This helps to reduce the risk of personal data being sent to the wrong postal address or email address and being accessed by someone who is unauthorised.

Review Access Controls 

Take some time to review who in the company should have access to what. Not all roles will require access to the personal data of customers and other employees, and having a structured data hierarchy in place can reduce the risk of personal data being inappropriately accessed or shared.

Back Up Your Work Systems 

Another one of the important steps to prevent data breaches includes backing up your systems. Cybercriminals and employees aren’t the only dangers to the personal data of clients, members, and workers.

Keeping back-ups of your systems off-site means that even in the event of fires, floods, and other natural disasters or break-ins, the data can be recovered. These back-ups also need to be adequately protected, wherever they are stored.

Be Careful When Talking To Other Colleagues 

Verbal disclosure is a kind of data breach that occurs when one person verbally discloses processed personal data to someone else. For example, if you work in HR and you tell an unauthorised co-worker about another colleague’s health issues, this could be a case of verbal disclosure.

Because of this, it can be helpful to know what you can and can’t talk about with other colleagues. Being mindful of the employee hierarchy in your place of work and knowing who can have access to certain kinds of data can also be helpful.

Contact Us

Hopefully, this guide has helped you learn as a business some steps you can take to help prevent a data breach from occurring. If your personal data has been breached by your workplace, you could be eligible to make a compensation claim if this has caused you harm. This is something we could help you with as part of our services.

Contact our advisors to learn more by:

An employee sits at a computer after a security breach, with the words DATA BREACH on the screen

More Useful Resources About Data Breaches

For more information on data breaches and compensation claims:

Or, for further helpful resources:

Thank you for reading our guide on the essential steps to prevent data breaches.