It’s paramount to prevent unauthorized data access on both personal and business systems. The information stored on these systems are often for only a select few to view and use. Exposing financial information, proprietary secrets, personnel data, etc. can be a costly mistake.

Unauthorized users aren’t necessarily hackers (although that’s possible). They’re often a family member, friend, or employee that stumbled upon it because their access to it wasn’t restricted. There are ways to stop those prying eyes without spending more money to do it.

The three best ways to prevent unauthorized data access:

  • Lock your system when it’s not in use. Whether you’re leaving to run to the bathroom or go to a meeting, lock your system before you go. This will prevent passers-by from being able to view your data.
  • Use permission tiers. Servers with active directory have a group policy feature. This feature can assign users certain permissions while restricting access elsewhere. Take the time to sort your employees by duty and what they’ll need access to. Then restrict access to what they don’t need to do their job.
  • Provide specific user accounts for log in. Do not create and use generic logins, e.g. “frontdesk,” “staff,” etc. that anyone can use to log into systems. This is to keep staff members accountable for their actions. It is easier to say “John Doe was the last to login, he made the change,” than “frontdesk logged in and made the change. Hmm, 20 people have that login… so who made the change?” Each user account is assigned administrative access, non-administrative access, or guest access. Users without administrative rights will not be able to download programs to their systems. This means less malware and viruses can make it onto your systems and network.

Simple steps like these go a long way to prevent unauthorized data access. Need help setting up permission tiers or individual user accounts? Let us help. Loyal IT assists companies of all sizes protect their network and keep their data secure. Contact us today for a free quote.