In the world of PR, it is your duty to inform your customers while promoting your company. Doing so can be a difficult task—after all, how do you make yourself heard in such a vocal and competitive climate?
In some instances, though, you need to be the loudest noise out there, especially in such sensitive situations like assuring your customers and clients about your company’s data security and how you’re combating hacking and ransomware.
With the upcoming GDPR laws about to make headway in Europe, and with the rise of cybercrime, you need to find a way to assure your customers and clients that your company is doing its best in the war against cyberattacks.
So, how can your company protect themselves in such a digital age?
1. Encrypted protocols to protect customer data
Customers are becoming much more tech savvy, which is why they are automatically suspicious of new websites. Do you have SSL certification? Are you protected by the right programs? Moving your company from HTTP to HTTPS is the first and necessary step to do this. Users automatically look for security indications on a website that tell them their data is encrypted, allowing them to feel secure and confident when and if they make a purchase.
2. Data backup techniques to keep operations running smoothly
Another step your company should take is to go through and back up all of their data in the case of it being held for ransom. Doing this on the Cloud isn’t enough, especially if they don’t have extra security measures on your Cloud account. This is because when their company uses the Cloud, a virus accidentally downloaded from the home of one of their employees could affect their whole system.
Instead, get them to use personal servers, hard drives, or whatever it takes to back up their data. This means having a copy of the work kept off-site and in a secure location. If they don’t have this copy, then anything from being hacked to a local failure could mean they lose everything. If this has happened already, stay calm, there are computer forensics Los Angeles specialists for hire who could extract and retrieve this data, allowing you confidently smooth over customer relations and allowing them to get back up on their feet. Plus, if the case has to be taken to court, they can provide a testimony. Have backups of data, however, and they will be the secure and stable company that customers can trust, and you can easily manage.
3. Company-wide training
While most companies have security measures, not many train their employees on cybersecurity. Encourage them to take courses, especially if that course offers a certification you can then use to convince their customers of your client’s reputation further.
When it comes to promoting a company, a PR team needs to ensure that what they are saying is true and can hold up under scrutiny. Rather than have your company risk its reputation, take it into your own hands and practice the correct measures. The safer you are with your client’s data, the more likely they are to trust you.
