We know, you’ve been in the game for quite a while now and you think you’re still immune from hackers. Well, for the past years, maybe you are. You have limited private and personal information stored because those are not really the most vital things your business needs before. However, today, when most businesses rely on technology, digital security is more crucial than ever, it is essential that businesses and employees take all reasonable precautions to prevent cyberattacks and data breaches involving both company and personal information. Particularly, in the highly profitable and expansive construction industry, essential stakeholders must exercise exceptional attention to prevent data breaches.
It’s not simply about locking up and protecting your construction site, your tools, and your documents when they’re not in use anymore. When it comes to cyberattacks affecting the construction industry, worries concerning personal data, project data, software, and hardware are currently at the center of discussions.
Hackers would love to get their hands on the valuable information that construction companies like yours store. Customer loss, reputational damage, accountability for lost data, and even monetary loss could result from a data breach. The majority of businesses cannot afford to take that risk. Given all of that, it is puzzling that about 84% of businesses reportedly lack appropriate IT security, according to a Rival Security study.
Why is Data Breach Rising in the Construction Industry?
The thought of your very valuable data being out there in the open is quite scary. Even with multiple layers of security in place, hackers are still finding ways to access valuable assets that can do serious damage to both organizations and customers. A 2021 Data Breach analysis published by Kroll found that data breaches in the construction industry alone grew by 800% between 2019 and 2020.
The industry’s avoidance to comply with regulation in data security and privacy laws, the slower adoption of digitization, the increased exposure to third parties, the shift to remote work environments, and the fact that construction companies of all sizes store desirable data and personal information that hackers find appealing are just a few of the factors that contribute to this. Additionally, if you work on city and state projects, construction businesses have access to a vast amount of information including intellectual property, corporate banking and financial accounts, architectural blueprints and plans, as well as information about governmental institutions.
How to Prevent the Risk of Data Breaches in the Construction Industry
In the midst of all the scare when it comes to data breaches, it is obvious that you need to use construction data security procedures to protect your information and keep it secure. Or, to be sure your company is really secure, you can always rely on cutting-edge technology, dependable security experts, and well-thought-out plans to combat cyberattacks and improve risk management.
Here are the ways to prevent data breaches in your construction company:
Undergo Risk Assessment through Data Inventory
It is essential to first evaluate your level of risk in order to build up your business and corporation for success against data loss and cyber attacks. Consider the following while going through a data inventory: what does this firm need to protect? What is the data’s storage location and intended storage period? Who has access to it and why is it vital to keep? Who is in charge of the data, and what categories does it fall under? Consider using some or all of the following strategies after assessing your risk level to make sure your data is as secure as possible.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication & Strong Passwords
A strict and strong password policy should be in place, and multi-factor authentication should be enabled. These are the two most common and efficient techniques to protect data. Whenever possible, mandate multiple authentication for employees, and mandate frequent password changes. Try to avoid using phrases that are personal to you when selecting a password, and aim for at least 15 characters.
Utilize Encryption & VPNs
It is even more crucial to encrypt data now because more employees than ever before work remotely, especially given the geographical distribution of the construction business. In today’s very active era of cyber breaches, a shield of encryption during data transmission and storage is not advised as the only measure of defense. Another defense in place to ensure that workers and online users are as safe and secure as possible is a virtual private network, or VPN.
Conduct Continuous Monitoring of Entry Points
Making an ongoing effort to keep an eye on entry points and check for security threats like malware, viruses, and ransomware is a proactive strategy to protect data. It is crucial to regularly verify access points and ensure that all software and programs are functioning properly due to the significant increase in people working from home and ongoing threats to data security. Vulnerability scanners can be used by larger firms with information and security specialists at various phases of software development to find problems and improve optimization.
Create an Incident Recovery Plan & Back-Ups for your Data
Having an incident response plan in place for when and if a breach occurs is a critical first step in the prevention of security breaches. Make a strong plan of action and be prepared to use it if necessary. In these tragic circumstances, time is of the essence, so it’s important to know crucial details like who is first in line for communication points, limiting further harm, outlining remediation strategies, and consulting insurance and legal counsel as necessary. In relation to disaster recovery, it’s essential to have safe backups set up or previously formed to further guarantee the security of your data.
Create a Firewall Protection
Another line of defense in the struggle against cyber breaches is setting up a firewall protection on your networks to stop and safeguard software from attacks on crucial data. A firewall can help prevent unauthorized computers and users from breaking into your system and can also alert you to any potentially dangerous software that might be operating on your computer.
Have Access Control and Train your Employees
Make sure that only the individuals who require access to the most sensitive information have access to it as a final precaution to protect your data from a breach. Use a role-based control system to limit each employee’s access to only what they truly require. It is also strongly advised that staff members receive in-depth training on cybersecurity threats and what they can do on a regular basis to help avoid attacks, especially at larger firms.
Due to the rising threat of data breaches in the construction industry, having a response plan in place and implementing every line of defense should put you in a safer position when it comes to breaches. However, if you want to make sure that you have robust protection against all types of cyber threats, you should consider hiring a reputable cybersecurity company. In this way, you get to have peace of mind knowing your cybersecurity is well-handled by experts with top of the line technology to safeguard your data.
Here at Intelecis, we don’t just make sure that your cybersecurity is in place. We train your employees too! Our service is 24/7, so you get to sleep soundly at night without the thought of hackers breaching your most valuable data. If you’re ready to have a more secure business today, feel free to contact us.
