Our data-driven and interconnected world has created a lot of opportunities. It has created many luxuries that have made our lives and businesses better. In all likelihood, we’re likely to see more interconnections and further benefits to society and business as data becomes even more widespread. Providing us with the data that we need to make informed decisions is a good thing, and it should be commended. Unfortunately, it should also be protected. There are many that could stand to gain from gaining access to data illicitly. The first step in ensuring the safety of your organization’s data is a website security audit.
Protecting a Company’s Data
A website is an incredibly powerful tool. If a website is used effectively, it can provide every person that they need to make an informed decision. A potential customer can understand the business better and be more inclined to purchase products. Sales reps can pull up the customer sales history to see what the customer has bought (and may be likely to buy next). Operations managers can check their inventory to see where they have gaps. Unfortunately, if you are not careful, disgruntled former employees may be able to check these same data sets and use this information to settle scores.
What is a Website Security Audit?
A website security audit is the process of reviewing all of the user roles on a website to make sure that those that have access can access the pages they are supposed to. It also includes removing those accounts that are no longer active. It should be noted that a website security audit does not guarantee that your data will be protected forever. It also does not guarantee that everybody who has access will protect your data perfectly. However, it is a good start to protecting the sensitive information for a business.
Does your business houses sensitive product, customer, inventory, or partner information on line? If so, it’s probably a good idea to have a data security plan in place. A great place to start would be a website security audit.