By Swatil Binte Mahmud, Blogger, Lava Protocols
If you have an online account, your biggest concern is your password which is expected to be unique and hard to guess. We are required to come up with passwords that are long, unpredictable, a mix of numbers and alphabets, and sometimes even characters. A good amount of thought and time is spent on securing your account. Wouldn’t you want the same for your business? In 2018, approximately 1.5 million patients’ non-medical records were stolen from the SingHealth (a group of healthcare institutions in Singapore) database. To add to that, about 160,000 patient medical records — including that of the current Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s — were accessed illegally. This is one example of a huge case of a data breach.
Hackers are targeting businesses instead of individuals. They can impersonate email service providers and Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms to steal corporate data and access their systems. Once an individual accidentally gives access to his/ her account, hackers can access all sorts of data from the organization. They can use this to send malicious emails to other employees. That is why your business needs a safe space where you can store your data and peacefully sleep at night. Salesforce uses a variety of methods to ensure that your data is safe, secure, and available only to registered users in your organization. More and more individuals, companies, and even government organizations are choosing to store their valuable information with Salesforce. Salesforce utilizes some of the most advanced technology for Internet security available today.
Here are some ways you can secure your data:
Two-step verification and multi-factor authentication
Google has an option where every time you sign in to your Google account, you will need to put a password and verification code. The code is sent via text message, voice call, or Google’s mobile app. This way, even if hackers somehow get a hold of your password, they cannot log in. The moment you yourself sign in from another device, two-step verification is needed. The two-step verification can help you protect your personal and work email and Google accounts by simply adding another step to your daily log-in routine. If you are not using Google, you can check the security measures of the service provider you use.
Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection against common threats like phishing attacks, credential stuffing, and account takeovers. Salesforce offers simple, innovative MFA solutions that provide a balance between strong security and user convenience.
Strong CRM platform security
If you are using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platform such as Salesforce, there are several security measures you can take. One is the two-factor authentication approach. You can set this up for every user’s login, log in through API (for developers and client applications), and access to features such as reports and apps. Users would have to either download a Salesforce/Google mobile authenticator app (to receive push notifications or OTPs via the app) or use a U2F security key as the second-factor authentication. The second security measure you can take is to include IP range restrictions. This means you will be restricting users to log in only from your company network or a VPN (a virtual private network).
Shifting from on-site data to Cloud
In-house or on-site data management carries more problems than solutions. Data stored in on-site servers are susceptible to several dangers, from natural disasters and fires to office break-ins, to employee error. If your servers are damaged or stolen, then massive amounts of valuable data may be lost forever. Cloud security, particularly for businesses, is demonstrating itself to be a much more reliable option. Salesforce, the leading authority in cloud-based CRM, recognizes the need for a secure cloud. To provide clients with the most secure solutions possible, Salesforce incorporates a range of security tools into every service they provide.
The cloud effectively eliminates several of the security concerns, simply by being located off-site. Disasters, break-ins, and disgruntled employees do not have access to the physical servers that make up the cloud, and most cloud providers ensure that access to data is closely monitored.
Your data is valuable, and cybercriminals are targeting companies more than ever before. It is estimated that 37,000 websites are hacked every day, with nearly half of all cybercrimes targeting small businesses. Therefore, connecting with the right IT or cloud service provider would be a good place to start to secure your data and business. Lava Protocols has worked with numerous clients over the past decade with its cloud solution implementation and data security. Salesforce and Lava Protocols work with clients across different industries such as Financial Services, Telco, Government, Aviation, etc. and have helped them to ensure best practices in terms of data security.
If you still do not have your data secured, check out Salesforce and Lava Protocols to do so!
Lava Protocols is an authorized Salesforce Partner. Want to manage your CRM better? Drop us an email to schedule your demo: hello@lavaprotocols.com.