Do Your Employees Have Access to Company Data Without Putting It At Risk?

If someone asked your right where all of your company data is, could you answer them with absolute confidence? 

Most business owners will likely say that their data is stored on their main server at the office, or a server hosted with their cloud provider, or that their data is stored in OneDrive or Google Drive.

Others might say that their data is also stored on a backup device, and that backup device stores a copy of everything in the cloud. Very well done, for those who answer like that.

We're not here to prove anyone wrong. If you made these big investments into your business to safely store and protect your data, then that is where the data should be. That being said, the problem usually isn’t with the one writing the paychecks…

Your Employees Aren’t Focused on Data Security

This isn’t to slander your employees. They have jobs to focus on, quotas to meet, projects to complete, and everyday tasks to perform. Thinking about your IT is the last thing on their minds. To them, the computer, the network, and the servers are all things that exist in the background and sometimes get in the way of their jobs when something doesn’t work right.

Having said that, if a salesperson needs to get access to a proposal they have been working on, and they have no way to access the network in a certain situation, then they may try to come up with the solution themselves. They'll email themselves the file or stick it on a thumb drive or on her laptop and suddenly, that document is no longer protected by your network. Changes to the document are no longer backed up. In one swift move, a piece of data is no longer under your control.

A sales proposal may not contain trade secrets or sensitive information, but you can see how easy it is for someone with good intentions to create serious problems for your business.

This salesperson doesn’t necessarily deserve to lose their job over what they did (although they should be trained to avoid this from happening again), but the fault lies with management. If your employees aren’t given the ability to perform their jobs as needed, they may find their own way. They’ll think they are going above and beyond, and they really are. Alas, they aren’t as in touch with IT and cybersecurity and compliance standards and everything else you are likely worried about.

This is Even More Critical Now

Let’s ask that question again, especially for industries where many users are working remotely: Where is your data? Do you have it under control? Are you offering your users a way to access everything without putting it at risk?

We can help you audit your existing IT environment and take into consideration that users are accessing things remotely, and help you lock down your data. To talk more about this, give Macro Systems a call at 703-359-9211.