Data and hosting: How to secure your store data ?

Securing the data shop is essential these days, given the increasing amount of data collected, stored and processed on the Internet. Personal or sensitive data has become a prime target for hackers, who seek to collect, store and use it for malicious purposes. So to make your data shop secure, you need to put in place appropriate security measures.

Store Data: What Are the Risks ?

As a store manager, you’re well aware that the data flowing through your stores is essential to your business’s success. Product information, inventory tracking, orders, and customer data—all these elements drive your operational efficiency and the robust growth of your store network. If you were to permanently lose this information, you would be forced to start almost from scratch.

Today, securing store data is a crucial concern. Businesses are as much targets of malicious cyber activities as individuals. Beyond cyberattacks, the risks are many: hardware failures, network outages, accidental actions, equipment theft, computer viruses, fires, floods… Therefore, we’re sharing some best practices for IT security that you can implement across your network of sports stores.

Best Practices to Implement

The purpose of the following actions is to safeguard your stores against physical access to equipment, computer crashes and failures (maintenance), and malicious activities (viruses and cyberattacks).

Establish an IT Charter

The first step is to establish an IT charter. This document, intended for all company members, aims to involve employees in the security of your network. As the primary users, they must take precautions and understand the importance of data security.

From the moment they are hired, and with the help of this IT charter, your employees should be aware of :

• The best practices to follow daily within your store network;
• The prohibitions and commitments they agree to upon signing the document (confidentiality of company data, restrictions on sharing sensitive documents or information, etc.);
• The consequences of not adhering to the charter (potential sanctions, suspensions, etc.);
• The recommended steps to follow in case of loss or theft of equipment (smartphones, sales tablets, desktop computers, etc.);

Keep in mind, the more you educate your employees about the importance of store data, the more secure your network will be!

Protect Everyone’s Data

When discussing data protection, remember that it concerns your clients, employees, and business alike. This issue encompasses all your departments and partners. The introduction of GDPR has established a set of regulations that are vital to understand for protecting your stores.

• Ensure the security and confidentiality of employee data: bank details, social security numbers, pay slips, badge records, etc. Only authorized personnel should have access, and be transparent with your employees about how you handle this information.
• Collect only data that is relevant to the position held by your employees. Avoid storing sensitive data and clearly communicate how you will handle it to ensure easy access for the concerned individuals.
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• Train your employees on how to handle data across different departments, with your clients, and within your company.

Implementing GDPR is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness in your stores about the rules to follow and to reintroduce your IT charter.

Follow Basic IT Rules

Protecting your store data also involves implementing basic IT rules, including :

• Avoid using your network for personal purposes to reduce the risk of hacking. Implement a firewall to block access to risky websites.
• Ensure you have a robust and up-to-date antivirus program.
• Enforce the use of complex passwords: uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, special characters, and a substantial length. The more complex and frequently changed your passwords, the better your protection.
• Make sure each employee uses unique credentials for their professional account; duplicates pose higher risks.
• Practice logging in and out: everyone should lock their session whenever they leave their workstation.
• Do not download email attachments from unknown senders.

Perform Regular Backups

Alongside practices that mitigate risks to your store data security, you need a contingency plan. A system of regular and institutionalized backups can save your business in the worst-case scenario. If a ransomware attack occurs, you will be more confident and able to make the necessary decisions without fearing the loss of critical data needed for business recovery.

In the end, securing your store data involves both good practices and the right tools. While data centralization offers unmatched performance benefits, it’s crucial to choose solutions that can handle your store network’s data volume while protecting it. Our final advice: select management software that meets security standards, simplifies your employees’ tasks, ensures compliance with best practices, and secures your operations with real-time data replication and backup systems.