Patrick Domingues

In 2022, four out of five workers did their work remotely or were hybrid. Remote work was embraced by companies, and they were forced to define and adopt remote working policies. However, IT departments were just as crucial in the new remote working era. They had to ensure security for their employees who were now working from home or from coffee shops.

Protecting sensitive information and maintaining regulatory compliance has become more difficult in today’s dynamic business landscape. Companies have to adapt their data access protocols to account for employees accessing data from various locations and devices. Businesses that shift their security posture when migrating from on-premise to hybrid and cloud environments again face a similar challenge, just as they did when they moved to the cloud.

Begin by defining the culture of security and then ensure that all employees are trained to respect the company’s standards. By training your employees frequently, you are giving them the chance to experience security on a daily basis. This is the best way to build a strong habit.

• Data Security Basics : Training employees is the key to effective security. Employees must learn the basics of security and how to avoid common threats like phishing scams. They must also be trained on how to spot fraudulent texts and how to avoid sharing credentials. These practices are already second nature to most seasoned employees, but it’s important that they are part of the training program as well.
• Compliance requirements : There are so many regulations and requirements that it’s hard to keep track of them all. The more a business understands about these rules, the better it will be at following them. These regulations include data protection and privacy regulations like PCI, HIPAA and GDPR. All employees should understand the compliance requirements that apply to their roles. Employees with privileges that interact with data regulated by these requirements should understand them at a level they could teach others.
• Data Handling Procedures : Train employees to handle confidential data. Make sure they know the guidelines for accessing, storing, transmitting and disposing of sensitive information. But better yet, use technology that makes it easy for employees to handle confidential data appropriately, instead of leaving the onus on them to define a way. The company reduces the burden on employees while increasing security.
• Incident response and responsibility : Not all employees are expected to handle data security breaches, but they still have a role to play in protecting the company. Business owners can train their workers in identifying and reporting suspected breaches, participating in investigations, and preventing future incidents.

Security is a big deal. It’s not something you can do once and forget about. Security needs to be an ongoing practice. Training is just the beginning. It introduces employees to security practices that they must continue to work on. It’s more than just awareness of security practices. It’s also about building familiarity with them so that it becomes part of your everyday life at work.

As a leader, you should be selective and demanding about the security tools your company chooses. You need to pick tools that make it easier, not harder, for employees to access sensitive data securely. You should seek out flexible tools that work with ever-evolving regulations and the changes and shifts of the policies that matter most to the company.

I hope this article was helpful, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. If you would like to be notified of when I create a new post, you can subscribe to my blog alert.