Data privacy is a matter in which the old adage “prevention is better than cure” certainly applies. A tiny bit of malicious code uploaded to your website can cause massive damage, from an opening of a pop-up, to passwords or sessions stolen and even a complete system breach. You should include in your data security policies how often and when you are able to check your system for malicious code, and what security measures are in place to minimize the risk.

Ensure that any software platforms or scripts you use on your websites are upgraded regularly. Hackers are targeting security vulnerabilities within popular web software, and a deficiency in timely updates makes your system vulnerable. You should also restrict access to your network or database to the minimum number of people required to perform their job.

Create a plan to address any potential breaches and assign a member discover this of staff to manage the process. Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to notify consumers, law enforcement agencies, customers, and credit bureaus. This is a serious matter that should be planned well in advance.

Set up strong password requirements and make sure you have a way to save passwords. For instance, you should require upper and lowercase characters, numerals and special characters. Additionally, you can use salt and hash functions that are slow. Avoid storing sensitive user data, and when you do, lower the risk by either encrypting the data or the deletion of it after a set period of time.