Businesses rely on technology to help run day-to-day operations. Gone are the days of keeping a ledger in the back office or using an old fashioned cash register to ring up orders. The use of technology is essential in today’s modern business world, but it’s only as good as the safeguards put in place for protection. A data breach can spell doom for a business and they happen more than you think.
A report released by the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) and sponsored by IDT911, found there were 781 data breaches in 2015, the second highest recoded since the ITRC began its tracking in 2005. Businesses topped the 2015 ITRC Breach List with 40 percent of the breaches being targeted at companies. Adam Levin, chairman and founder of IDT911, said there may have been even more data breaches than the reported 781.
“These numbers are by no means the whole story, as breaches have become the third certainty in life. Since 2005, ITRC has tracked 5,810 reported breaches. Many continue to fly under the radar because many businesses aim to avoid the financial dislocation, liability, and loss of goodwill that comes with disclosure and notification,” Levin said. “It is safe to assume that the actual number of breaches is much higher than what is reported.”
Data breaches can have tremendous effects on a franchised business as their implications can be widespread across an entire network. It is important for brands to be preemptive in order to combat them.
Limit Employees Access to Certain Data
In 2013, 35 percent of breaches were caused by human factors - such as negligence from an employee or contractor, according to the Ponemon Institute. The best bet would be to keep the vital data of a company – such as financial information - privy to managers and franchisees.
Purge Customers Information
While the convenience of keeping a customer’s credit card or sensitive information may help streamline some situations, chances are you don’t need it on a daily basis. If you keep this information on hand, it could become easier for hackers to intercept and be used for malicious purposes. Make sure to purge customer’s data and records once you no longer need it.
Implement PCI Security Standards
Customer’s payment information is a common target in a data breach. If no security systems are put in place, a slide of a customer’s credit card and personal information could get into the hands of a hacker. And this can be taken from card readers, wireless access routers, payment data storage and point of sale systems. The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council is constantly monitoring threats and helping improve methods to deal with them. Their database is constantly being updated to help businesses.
Adopt EMV
For years it seems like EMV cards were the wave of the future. Well that future is now a reality, as many brands and big box stores are using this technology. An EMV card has a chip embedded into it to protect consumers and businesses alike. Approximately 40 percent of U.S. credit card holders have EMV capable cards and more are on the way. Adapting to this new technology can add an extra security measure as the cards become more prevalent.
Teach Employees
At the end of the day, a brand is only as good as the people it employs. Training employees about the dangers of data breaches and how to combat them can stop a breach before it gets too big. Train them to use stronger passwords when working remotely and caution them not to give Wi-Fi or systems information to non-employees. A little training can go a long way.
