Why is data security becoming a popular issue for outsourcing? Since 57% of companies worldwide outsource part of their essential functions, protecting sensitive data is necessary.
| Content Table 1. What are the benefits of Outsourcing? 2. How do data breaches occur? 3. What are the best practices for outsourcing providers? 4. Comprehensive Security Methods 5. Call us. |
What are the benefits of outsourcing?
The primary reason for working with an outsourced company is stated to be lower costs. A few other benefits include::
- Time saved on employee hiring and training.
- Improvements in punctuality and accuracy while fulfilling deadlines.
- Agility, including the capacity to increase staff in response to demand spikes during specific seasons.
- Gaining access to knowledge.
Access to a network of professionals is very beneficial. The complexity of third-party ecosystems has increased, and it’s critical to keep up with the frequent upgrades to operating systems, applications, plugins, integrations, and APIs. Missing a beat may have detrimental effects on productivity and the bottom line of your company.
How do data breaches occur?
Many people associate “cybercrime” with malevolent individuals attempting to “hack into” computer networks. In actuality, things are extremely different:
- More often than not, human mistake causes data breaches instead of technical hackers breaching servers or firewalls.
- With the widespread and affordable availability of cybercrime tools on the internet, hackers may now target your company with more ease than before.
- It is also necessary to take into account breaches that were caused by contractors, departing partners, or employees.
To keep your company secure, the emphasis must be on sealing the security gaps that are most likely to arise. The top 7 of these gaps and suggestions for filling them are shown below.
Daisy Chaining
Using the same password for several internet accounts is known as “daisy chaining” passwords.
People frequently utilise the same passwords when they carry their credentials into the workplace.
Nevertheless, if cybercriminals manage to obtain one of the passwords, they will have little trouble identifying additional accounts that share the same password.
This is how hackers may get access to private services, such as company email accounts, and cause a great deal of harm quickly.
Brute Force Techniques Being Used to Crack Weak Passwords
A lot of individuals use very clear, short, and easy passwords. Brute force techniques may quickly crack short passwords. Hackers are not concerned about passwords of even eight or nine characters.
Team Members Sharing Password
Some companies have a practice where team members exchange login credentials. When team members depart, it becomes an issue. It’s easy to forget who has access to what passwords, and maintaining security requires you to cycle through passwords.
Before long, several people have a patchwork of passwords and applications that they shouldn’t be.
Another issue with shared passwords is that they make access management and auditing difficult. It is challenging or impossible to locate the breach point in the event of a data breach or other anomaly.
Insufficient Employee Oversight
In an office setting, it is simpler to identify problems when staff members are present. However, you lose visibility when workers are offshore, remote, or off-site.
99% of the time, nothing is wrong. However, it’s nearly hard to find out until the harm is done if a teammate or someone else with login access begins taking or using data unlawfully.
The fact that businesses frequently have no control over external devices’ security is another problem.
Employee, Manager or Ex-Partner stealing client data
Most team members are trustworthy and would never do anything to damage your company’s brand or good name.
However, on occasion, angry workers may conclude that company data is theirs to deal with as they like.
Additionally, it is not unheard of for a partnership to end and for the departing partner to take the customer list and other important information with them.
Contrary to popular belief, all of these phenomena occur significantly more frequently.
Storing password in the browser
Passwords may be immediately saved in browsers including Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Chrome.
While it could be practical, it’s also quite unsafe. With a few clicks, raw passwords may be viewed in plain form.
When browsers are used on many devices, an unattended PC or a pilfered iPhone may lead to a leak very rapidly.
It is important to remind all team members not to save passwords in browsers and to periodically clear and reset any that are already saved.
Devices Open to Breach
The actual gadgets and connections that team members are utilising provide an additional danger. Even if a thief never manages to access any of your cloud accounts, they can still cause a great deal of harm if they manage to acquire access to any of your devices through network intrusion or smartphone theft.
Public WiFi is a typical danger. Any of the following might happen if employees from your company occasionally log on at coffee shops or hotels:
- The activities of the logged-in user might be visible to criminals.
- They could set up trojans, viruses, or other unwanted software.
Once more, all it takes for an issue to arise is for one employee to use an unsecured network.
What are the best practices for Outsourcing providers?
The following should be taken into account if your outsourcing company has an office or location where your outsourced staff works:
Security at the entrance
It is ensured that no unauthorised personnel can enter the building by implementing security that begins at the front door. Through the use of a keypad or biometric scanner, access to the building should only be granted to workers. It’s also crucial to remember that the building should only be accessible after hours by security and senior employees. All line employees will only be able to enter the facility during regular business hours thanks to this straightforward precaution.
On-site monitoring
Security personnel should be on duty at the main entrance and reception area seven days a week, in addition to the keypad lock. It should be the duty of security to ensure that only authorised guests and employees pass through reception. Spot searches might also be an extra precaution as they make sure employees don’t bring any recording devices—like cell phones, cameras, or USBs—into the main operations area if it isn’t included in their job description.
Locker Areas
Every employee needs to have a personal locker. Before entering the operations area, staff members have to be obliged to store all of their personal belongings in their lockers. This arrangement has the advantage of limiting worker access to personal devices to breaks at the on-site restaurant or outside the facility. While some outsourcing companies permit cell phones in the operations area, others only permit them with the client’s consent. Before entering the operations area, mobile phones and other devices should be left in a secure locker facility as a best practice for maximum data security.
Clean Desk Policy
Employees working remotely will have access to your company’s data through the main operations area. To stop employees from keeping anything on their desks that might allow them to capture sensitive information, be sure your provider has a clean desk policy in place.
Biometric Scanner
Staff members should be required to authenticate themselves by utilising a biometric scanner to scan their fingerprints upon accessing the main operations area. Biometric scanners make sure that only employees have access, therefore guests must first receive permission from management to enter.
To track personnel arrivals and departures, biometric scanners should be connected to time and attendance systems. When attempting to solve issues related to productivity and efficiency, this level of information is really helpful. Biometrics are best-practice security, unlike swipe cards, which are interchangeable or stolen.
CCTV
Government regulations in certain nations, such as the Philippines, mandate that all outsourcing businesses install CCTV. This should be assured if outsourcing to the Philippines is where you want to go. The advantage of CCTV is that, in the event of a data breach, it keeps a complete record of personnel movements and covers all appropriate areas both inside and outside the building.
Disabled USB and Hard Drive Access
It’s excellent practice for your provider to disconnect all USB ports on laptops to stop data theft and safeguard the privacy of your business. This will guarantee that employees cannot download any data using USBs or other devices.
Limited Cloud-Based Program Access
Outsourcing is now made possible via cloud-based programming. It is imperative, therefore, that your supplier be able to restrict employee access on mobile devices and after hours.
Comprehensive Security Methods
The laws are trying to keep up with the rapid evolution of technology in this day and age. Data protection is essential as the world becomes more sensitive, complex, and data-driven. Accompanying this is the growing tendency of businesses opting to outsource their work to gain from a multitude of sources. Cost savings, better productivity, speed and scalability, improved operational excellence, and enhanced security are a few of these advantages.
This trend, coupled with the urgency of data security increased data security necessitates a very safe working environment. The frequency of data breaches has skyrocketed, placing an even greater strain on cybersecurity. Comprehensive security measures are required to safeguard networks, hardware, and data from various malware and viruses. Data security and privacy may be attained in several ways, including by providing complete physical protection. Improved data security in outsourcing is ensured by the use of remote management and continual security awareness through comprehensive quality management systems and processes.
Physical Security
Data security starts at the corporate level, even in cases of outsourcing. Risk management falls within the purview of every department, including production, commercial, and the group that works directly with the company’s most sensitive information. Surveillance is one method to do this.
Although increased security on the premises may be achieved primarily through surveillance, there is one aspect that is frequently disregarded or managed improperly. Many times, businesses have antiquated or poorly maintained surveillance systems. Furthermore, the positioning of surveillance cameras frequently ignores some of the most important locations or procedures, creating a gap in the system. Because cybersecurity is the primary issue they must address while providing services to their foreign clients, offshore BPO businesses have dedicated themselves to overcoming this obstacle.
Each employee is issued an access card to the office building in addition to having adequate video surveillance and data security staff supervising physical security. Biometric fingerprinting and other forms of access using biometric data are typically used to provide an additional degree of security to safeguard the integrity of the data.
Being Aware of Rules and Regulations
The International Organisation for Standardisation has established data and compliance standards (ISO).
Businesses that provide business process outsourcing (BPO) and adhere to these requirements fully guarantee data security in outsourcing. There is a clear method for abiding by these guidelines even when offshore teams are working remotely.
It consists of seven principles and is regarded as the world’s strongest privacy and security regulation.
- Lawfulness, fairness, and transparency
- Purpose limitation
- Data minimisation
- Accuracy
- Storage limitation
- Integrity & Confidentiality
- Accountability
It can accomplish this by controlling the personal data’s recording, collection, organisation, storage, modification, updating, retrieval, consultation, use, consolidation, destruction, and deletion.
Audit Process
By putting the ISO management system into practice, a firm may improve its reputation, customer trust, employee morale, security, and company image.
Skilled offshore KPO providers ensure that the programme, product, or system satisfies the fundamental requirements and predetermined objectives by using independent verification ISO audits. Periodically, these audits of internal verification are carried out to confirm that all procedures are followed precisely and without deviation, as required by standards.
It all boils down to selecting the best outsourcing company for your company.
Giving sensitive data to an outsourcing partner in the modern digital world means having complete faith in their security procedures. Selecting the incorrect partner might expose your data.
Proowrx provides an unparalleled data-centric outsourcing experience and is aware of this crucial demand. With an unyielding focus on data security, our team uses state-of-the-art technology and industry-leading processes to protect your information. You may feel secure knowing that we abide by the most stringent data security requirements. You may completely remove the danger of data breaches and unauthorised access by working with Proowrx, giving you the confidence to concentrate on your core business operations. Book a Discovery Call and learn more.