How to Protect Customer Data

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By John Ingrisano
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A medical facility wasn’t getting all the records it was supposed to be receiving by fax. As it turns out, their fax number was very similar to that of a local pizza parlor, where the records – some with very sensitive information – ended up.

A state department of revenue sent their printer a mailing list of 171,000 names, which somehow included the recipients’ Social Security numbers. The numbers were mistakenly printed on the outside of the envelopes, along with the names and addresses. The printer was held liable for the security breach.

These are just some of the thousands of horror stories about ID theft and security breaches.

As a small business owner, you have massive liability and equally massive risk. Here's how to protect your customers from fraud and your business from liability

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Create a credit policy, and put it in writing. This should include how data is collected, handled, stored and disposed of.
Step 2

Train your employees about the security weaknesses with email, as well as how to handle secure information. Make them aware of how to protect data.
Step 3

If you set up an e-commerce website, use programmers who have experience and know website security. A lot of companies doing website design are not meeting compliance requirements. You need to work with a company that has good staff and that is well-educated on these issues.”
Step 4

Do not store credit card numbers or other sensitive information on your web server. This makes it vulnerable to hackers.
Step 5

Utilize web programs that are written with security in mind, so your website will be less vulnerable to hackers.
Step 6

Monitor all transactions for fraud. This often requires little more than verifying signatures and checking a second piece of identification.