Insights

Introduction

When you enroll your workers in a data privacy training course for employees, they can be familiarized with the most critical principles and practices that help uphold data security and confidentiality. Best practices are applied to essential control access and communication tasks, including password management, device protection, and email security.

To give you an idea and better prepare your employees for this additional training, InfoBahn discusses these best practices and explains how they benefit your organization.

Why Employees Should Train for Data Privacy Best Practices

Data privacy training is no longer limited to IT experts. As more government agencies transition to digital systems, it is imperative that all members of your organization, regardless of their expertise, have at least a basic knowledge of how to uphold data privacy. By training your staff on best practices, you can ensure that sensitive data, including citizens’ information, is not susceptible to breaches and unauthorized use.

When your employees observe data privacy practices, your organization benefits from the following:

Prevention of Brute Force Attacks

Brute-force attacks refer to the systematic and exhaustive methods to “guess” passwords. It involves attempting to use all letter-number-symbol combinations until the password is found. You might think it won’t work due to the number of possible combinations, but it can be done using bots and other advanced methods.

When your employees know how to create strong passwords or protect their devices, such breaches are less likely to succeed.

Safeguarding Sensitive Company Data 

Government offices store large amounts of data because they are used for various applications, such as decision-making, intelligence, and operational efficiency. In the event of a security breach, an attacker can obtain information that could lead to unauthorized use of sensitive data and break the trust between your organization and the public.

Data protection is achievable with network access controls and firewalls, among other measures, but instilling a sense of responsibility in your staff strengthens security far more effectively.

Compliance With Data Privacy Regulations 

If you have attended data protection law courses before, you must know that having sensitive data leaked can have significant legal consequences for your organization. Authorities impose stringent requirements to safeguard and uphold data privacy laws. When sensitive data is exposed, not only will your agency have to answer to legal repercussions, but you can also lose public trust. This is especially the case if it is found out that your data security measures are lacking.

As such, having everyone involved in protecting sensitive data, including your employees, is paramount. Doing so enhances the company’s cybersecurity posture and reduces the risk of unauthorized access to confidential information and data.

For Government Agencies and Employees: Best Practices to Protect Data Privacy

There are online courses that you can ask your staff to enroll in to learn how to uphold data protection in the workplace. However, a better course of action is to seek professional help from experts who can provide data privacy training for employees, such as the team at InfoBahn Communications, Inc. 

To give you an idea of what to expect from this type of training, here are the best practices that you and your employees can start doing today to beef up your data privacy measures.

Manage Passwords

If you enroll in data privacy courses, whether online or onsite, you will learn that passwords are an authentication method used to verify the identity of a user. They help ensure that only authorized individuals (i.e., the person who knows the password) can get access to a system, device, network, or account. In many cases, they consist of a string of characters kept secret by the user to prevent unauthorized access.

Passwords come in different types, including alphanumeric, PIN, and grid patterns.

• Alphanumeric Passwords. Include a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters, which are often used to access work computers.
• PIN Codes. Personal Identification Number (PIN) codes are passwords typically consisting of just numbers (usually around four to six digits). They are commonly used for authenticating access to bank accounts, mobile devices, and local security systems. This type requires physical access to devices (such as mobile phones and ATMs) before entering the code.
• Grid Patterns. Unlike traditional alphanumeric passwords and PIN codes, grid patterns do not use numbers, letters, or symbols. Instead, users must create a distinct pattern by connecting four or more points from a 3x3 grid.

The ideal is to combine these password types for stronger security. Cybersecurity and data protection courses today may also recommend additional access control methods beyond passwords, such as biometric and two-factor authentication.

Encrypt Devices

Your staff use work desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets to perform tasks, process requests, and retrieve data. Gradually, the digital upgrades of agencies result in these devices being connected to networks and servers. Malicious actors may exploit that connection through network hacking or by introducing malware to destroy data. As such, your staff must understand the risks of unauthorized access to these endpoints.

To do so, you can encrypt devices by setting up PINs or biometric locks, for which credentials will be granted only to verified agency employees. In the same vein, you should teach your staff to protect these credentials and never share them with anyone unless your department explicitly authorizes it. While you can — and you should — defend your computer network with antivirus and anti-malware software, end users who put in the effort to maintain security are critical to keeping your agency safe from data breaches and theft.

Secure Email Use

Phishing attacks are prevalent in today’s digital landscape, but educating your employees about what constitutes this threat can help protect your organization from malicious actors who use email to extract sensitive information. The following are basic reminders that your whole staff will benefit from:

• Verify the sender’s email, especially if the message content seems suspicious (e.g., solicitations for money or requests for sensitive data such as birthdates and social security numbers).
• Think twice before clicking on links. If your agency generally does not include links when sending emails, refrain from clicking the links altogether.
• Do not open or download attachments from unknown sources, and report the email to the agency’s IT department.

Given that many of your employees will rely on email for much of their correspondence, learning these measures will not only protect your agency but also give your staff confidence as they navigate a more digital-centric work setup.

Conclusion

Best practices in data security are essential for any organization in the digital age, more so for government agencies that store employees' and citizens’ sensitive information. In addition to an agency’s IT department, staff knowledge of these best practices can better protect the organization from brute-force attacks, unauthorized access, and phishing attempts.

To equip your workers with knowledge about the importance of data privacy and security, as well as the steps to achieve it, you can call experts for help! Here at InfoBahn Communications, Inc., we can provide regular data privacy training for your employees to ensure they are well-equipped in today’s increasingly digitalized world.

Contact us today to learn about our IT services. Our friendly staff members can walk you through hiring our team.