Data Security a Major Concern in Business Process Outsourcing – How to Minimize Risks
With the rising incidence of security breaches, modern businesses should be cautious when choosing an outsourced solutions provider.
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Data security is a prime concern for many companies relying on outsourced data entry and other such services. Data breaches have increased rapidly over years and causes huge losses to small, mid-size and large companies. Many companies consider cyber security as a problem specific only to information technology department and not as a concern of top-level executives. However, with the increasing number of malicious attacks on companies, security has now become major headache even for top executives. Cyber Security Problems facing Businesses that Outsource In 2006, US Federal Agencies registered 5,503 cases of domestic and international cases of cyber threat, and in 2015, the number increased to 77,183, showing that cyber threats rose 1300 percent during 2006-2015. A 2015 Gibson Dunn report on Data Security in Outsourcing showed that data breaches affect all sectors in varying proportions -- banking (8%), healthcare (27%), government (16%), educational (15.3%) and general business (34.3%). The types of information breached includes: real names, birth dates, government ID numbers (Social Security), home address, medical records, phone numbers, financial information, email addresses, user names and passwords, and insurance. In 2016, “ransomware� a malicious program placed on a secured network which locks users out unless they pay, became a 75 billion industry! This clearly shows that digital security risk assessment has become a fundamental aspect of business and national security. In addition to losses amounting to millions of dollars, businesses whose data is compromised due to outsourcing also face huge litigation costs from class action suits filed by consumers, shareholders, and others who are affected. The reputational damage that can accompany such breaches can be devastating. Build a Partnership to Minimize Data Security Risks When choosing a document or data conversion company, organizations need to focus on choosing the right service provider. Moreover, the contract should require the company to ensure comprehensive data security by: -
Having practical and suitable preventive measures against destruction, loss, and unauthorized access to data
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Ensuring that customer data security safeguards comply with law and with industry standards
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Developing and following customer service protocols with regard to safeguards
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Ensuring that safeguards comply with customer privacy and security policies
The contract should also make the service provider accountable for the loss of data. Established service providers are vigilant to cyber threats and ready to take remedial measures to recover quickly if a breach should occur. They keep backups of data to
prevent data loss or restore lost data. Preparedness measures would also include regular employee training on security, intrusion detection systems, technical best practices, encryption, access control / ID management, data loss prevention software, and secure destruction.
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