The old saying “prevention is better than cure” certainly applies to data privacy. A tiny bit of harmful code that is uploaded to your website can cause huge damage. From a pop-up to a security breach, or an unintentional theft of passwords or sessions. As part of your security measures for data, you should define how frequently and by whom your system is scanned for this kind of malicious code. Also, you should determine what safeguards are in place mitigate the risk.
Be sure that the software platforms or scripts you use on your sites are updated regularly. Hackers are targeting security holes in the most popular web applications, and a lack of timely updates makes your system vulnerable. You should also restrict access to databases or networks to a minimum number of users needed to complete their job.
Create a plan to handle possible breaches and assign a person from your staff to oversee the process. Based on the nature of your business, you might be required to notify consumers, law enforcement agencies, customers and credit bureaus. This is a serious matter that should be planned in advance.
Implement strong password requirements and ensure you have a method to store passwords. For instance, requiring upper and lowercase characters, numerals and special characters. You can also utilize salt and slow hash functions. Avoid the unnecessary storage of confidential user data, and if you do, minimize the risk by either encrypting the data or deletion after a period of time.