The document outlines 7 critical steps companies should take to protect their data physically and digitally: 1. Secure physical access to computer equipment. 2. Implement environmental controls like climate control, fire suppression, and temperature monitoring. 3. Ensure backup power supplies are in place. 4. Install firewalls between internal and external networks. 5. Use updated anti-virus software on workstations and servers. 6. Restrict user access rights and remove access for departed employees. 7. Enforce strong password policies and change passwords regularly. The document recommends continuous online backups to securely archive data offsite.

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7 Critical Steps
To Protect Your
Data

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 To minimize the significant risks arising from data
loss, every company should take specific
preventative measures to protect their critical
business data. These measures fall into two broad
categories: physical security and digital security.
We will identify seven critical steps to ensure your
data is secure, then look at the additional
protection required to keep your data available.
Here, we look at physical security and the three
key steps a company should take to ensure their
data is protected against environmental changes
and physical theft.
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 Step #1: Secure Access
Protect critical computer equipment against
physical theft by placing it in a separate physical
space which has controlled, recorded access. Limit
entrance to only authorized personnel.
Step #2: Environmental Controls
The space which houses critical computer
equipment should be climate controlled through
proper heating and air conditioning, including fail-
over systems in the event of main system failure.
Fire suppression and temperature monitoring with
an automatic notification system should be
implemented.
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
Step #3: Uninterrupted Power
Ensure that backup power supplies, including surge
suppression, are in place to provide power to key
computer equipment in the event of a primary power
failure or instability in the primary power supply.
Now, we examine digital security and the four key steps
a company should take to ensure their data is protected
against unauthorized access.
Step #4: Firewalls
A firewall should be placed between the companys
internal computer network and each external network
access point to stop unauthorized users from gaining
access to the internal network and company data.
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Step #5: Anti-Virus Software
Each workstation and server in the company should
have anti-virus software installed and periodically
updated with current virus definition files. Email servers
should scan for viruses embedded in external messages
and attachments prior to relaying them to internal email
boxes.
Step #6: Restrict User Access
Access to network resources, applications and data files
should be restricted exclusively to those employees
with a need to access. Be sure to review user access
rights regularly to reflect changes in employee
responsibilities and when an employee leaves the
company, his or her login ID and access rights should be
immediately removed. In some cases, current
employees known to be leaving the company may also
need to have their access rights restricted to ensure the
safety and confidentiality of company data.
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 Step #7: Passwords
Ensure all passwords granting access to the company's
computer network, databases and critical files are properly
enforced. Passwords should be at least 8 characters in length
and combine letters and numbers. Users should change their
passwords at least every 90 days. Network administrator
passwords should be changed every 30 days.
Protection Beyond Security
The 7 steps outlined above are critical as the first line of
defense in protecting your data. However, it is important to be
aware that data loss can still occur. Beyond data loss caused by
disasters and criminal activity, data can be lost for a variety of
more mundane reasons. These include application corruption,
hardware failure, accidental deletion and user error. In any of
these circumstances, you will need to roll back to a clean,
available copy of your data. Continuous, online backup to a
secure remote site provides archived and up-to-the-loss copies
of data that can be quickly and conveniently recovered. With
this added protection, your data is not just secure, but
available and supporting your business.
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