All types of businesses operating in the 21st century are dealing with data. With a reliance on websites and social media and the preferred method of commerce being online transactions, there is no getting around it. While this data can be extremely valuable to companies, it is also a huge responsibility that they must face up to in a professional manner. There of course is still the need for a paper trail which can involve very important information from your business and your clients.  If you need a confidential shredding service make sure you organise it as soon as possible as a breach of data is a very serious matter.  Since much of the data they are dealing with is personal or financial, it is often highly sensitive and therefore requires a tight security plan to keep it safe from prying eyes.

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Sensitive data calls for sharp security

Although, as mentioned, the data that businesses deal with is customer information, there is much more to think about than that. Companies of all sizes store all sorts of details on web-based systems, such as private company data, details relating to business partners, employees’ personal information and other sensitive HR content. You can find out more about data protection regulations by visiting https://www.gov.uk/data-protection-your-business.

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The threats

Sadly, there are many people who would like to get their hands on commercial or corporate data, for a number of reasons. Whether they wish to source contact details for marketing purposes or they wish to steal a person’s identity with the intent of committing fraud, they will often be very skilled at hacking systems. As such, more and more businesses are at risk of security breaches and, if their security plan does fail, they will often be faced with fines, penalties and the demise of their reputation, sometimes costing them the entire company.

Small business seem to be the most vulnerable, as they often don’t have the same budget to spend on security, nor do they always understand that they too are as much targets as larger companies. However, a good security plan is a very important investment. Small businesses can find a range of security tools, such as endpoint security solutions.

So, with hundreds of reported breaches having already taken place, it is time that businesses start to seriously consider data breach risks. By adopting preventative measures, companies can be certain that they are doing the best that they can for their customers and employees, and are also reducing the risks of having to think about disaster recovery.