If you’ve been entrusted with the sensitive data of an important person, like a client, then you’ll be morally and legally obliged to protect that data. In the modern era, that means employing several important technical principles and technologies.

Beyond the direct financial and legal consequences of a breach, we should also be aware of the potential for reputational damage, which can often be long-lasting and very difficult to repair.

So, what can we do?

Not every member of your team requires access to every single file and folder in your system. In fact, in most cases, team members might find themselves interacting only with a very limited part of the system. By restricting access to the greatest possible extent, we can limit the potential impact of any given breach, and ensure that no one failure can compromise an entire network.

Virtual Private Networks are now proven, mainstream ways to ensure that remote workers can connect securely to your system. They work by creating an encrypted tunnel through which packets can be sent back and forth, effectively allowing remote workers to connect as though they were on your premises. This effectively obviates the possibility of a man-in-the-middle attack.

A good business VPN will be particularly useful to organisations whose workers often contribute from a remote location. It can be crucial when freelancers are being regularly drafted in, too.

If you’re going to store data on a local storage drive, like that of a phone or a laptop, then you’ll create an object of immense value to would-be thieves. Fortunately, through encryption, we can ensure that stolen drives are useless to those who lack the key. There are a few different whole-drive encryption services available. These, along with automatic timed lockouts, can vastly reduce the likelihood of client data being stolen.

Human memory only extends so far. When we’re asked to remember dozens of passwords, we often end up cutting corners. We might simplify our passwords, or recycle them.

A password manager allows us to overcome this limitation. Software of this kind will not only compose strong, unique passwords whenever required; it will also store and recall them. This central repository of passwords can then be protected using multi-factor (ideally biometric) techniques.

The more data you hold on to, the greater the risk that the data will be lost or otherwise compromised. Thus, regular data audits, which identify and delete files that are no longer required, can be an invaluable means of minimising the ‘attack surface’ presented by your organisation.