The One Question You MUST Ask Every Service Provider You Work With 

The One Question You MUST Ask Every Service Provider You Work With

More and more service providers are storing and transmitting client data virtually. With so much of your personal data being logged online, how can you make sure that service providers are protecting it? There’s one quick and simple way to find out if and how your data is being protected - insist that service providers explain it to you.

Protecting Your Personal Data: Why Holding Service Provides Accountable is CRITICAL

Let’s face it. The days of on-paper records are nearly obsolete. You can no longer count on the fact that your personal information at a doctor’s, lawyer’s, or accountant’s office is tucked safely away in a locked filing cabinet. These days, no matter where you go to receive financial, legal, or health services, chances are the personal data you’re required to provide is stored, accessed, and transmitted in an online environment.

There’s no denying that this virtualization has brought massive benefits. Sharing information is much easier and gone are the days of having to fax or mail important documents or data to service providers. Because of this, services are often more streamlined and long wait-times have been greatly reduced. While service providers and clients have both reaped the benefits of this innovation, there is a significantly increased risk in storing and transmitting sensitive and confidential data online.

The fact of the matter is, cybercriminals are increasingly trying to exploit the personal data of individuals with malicious intent. However, as virtualization continues to dominate, it’s highly unlikely that a return to more secure, on-paper personal records will ever be possible or desirable. That’s why, as an experienced team of cybersecurity professionals, we’re on a mission to help individuals be more vigilant and proactive by making sure their data security is taken seriously by every service provider they interact with.

The MUST-ASK Data Security Question For Service Providers in All Industries

When’s the last time you asked a service provider about their data protection policy? Unfortunately, we hear stories all the time about individuals and organizations who have had their sensitive data hacked or exploited by malicious cybercriminals. However, it’s not all doom and gloom.

The truth is, individuals, do not need to wait until their personal information is exploited to start taking data security more seriously. When armed with the right information, you can take charge of your data security. How? Start by making your concerns known right out of the gate.

The trick is to have an upfront and direct conversation with service providers any time you are required to hand over sensitive data of any kind. This might include the personal information you hand over to a lawyer, the financial information you hand over to a bank or accountant, the health records you hand over to a healthcare provider, or really, the sensitive data you’re required to hand over to any service provider you’re involved with.

While it might seem daunting or awkward to have a conversation about data security with a doctor, lawyer, or financial advisor, it’s absolutely critical that you make sure service providers understand that you take your data security seriously. Further, the conversation doesn’t have to be daunting or overly complicated.

Here’s our advice. Anytime you’re working with a service provider who requires your personal data to be stored and transmitted, ask them one simple question before handing over any data: “how are you going to protect my personal and confidential information?” It’s really that simple to keep the lines of communication open. Still not convinced it’s worth the effort? Keep reading to understand why this is so important.

Why Holding Service Providers Accountable About Data Security is a Non-Negotiable

Here’s the thing - asking proactive questions to service providers about the importance of your data security is about mitigating risk - but it’s about holding service providers accountable. Cybersecurity and data protection is a critical responsibility that rests on the shoulders of any business, organization, or service provider that you work with. Regardless of the industry or the services they provide you, service providers are required to take reasonable measures to ensure client data remains secure.

In fact, many of these service providers are required to maintain strict industry and government cybersecurity compliance and they must have clear and strict policies in place to protect your information. These policies and compliance regulations should be made available to you so you understand exactly what organizations are doing to maintain a secure and compliant data environment.

Wondering why these organizations are so highly regulated and held to high standards when it comes to data security? Check out some of the key reasons why individual data security is such a pressing concern - especially in an increasingly virtual service environment.

Why data security is more important now than ever before:

• Hackers and cybercriminals are getting smarter and savvier than ever before - they are constantly evolving and developing new strategies for getting their hands on the most valuable data in the virtual world.
• Whereas malicious cybercriminals used to target big organizations for huge payoffs, they’re now realizing that organizations have the resources to invest in durable and multi-layered cybersecurity defenses that are increasingly difficult to penetrate.
• The result? Cybercriminals are adapting and following the money. They now realize that there’s more success to be enjoyed if individual end-consumers are targeted instead of highly-defended enterprises.
• This means more and more cybercriminals are trying to use a variety of scams and blackmail attempts to target people like you: consumers who unwittingly hand over personal and confidential data to critical service providers in good faith.
• Let’s explore what this might look like. Say a cybercriminal hacks into the network for a law firm, doctor's office, accounting firm, or any other service provider that stores and transmits your personal data. Instead of going after the business itself by trying to penetrate enterprise-grade cybersecurity solutions in pursuit of a million-dollar payoff, they’re now focused on targeting the individual clients of these service providers.
• Why? Largely because they know that it’s much easier to prey on unsuspecting individual victims by blackmailing them with the demand for cash in exchange for promising not to release confidential data. These cybercriminals realize there is a better chance of getting multiple smaller payouts from desperate and frightened individuals instead of one big pay-off from the company that is investing in major resources and training to prevent cybercrime.

These are the reasons it’s so important to make sure that the service providers you work with have taken your own, individual data security into account. While they may be spending thousands of dollars bringing in expert solutions to protect their own data and business continuity, asking them to explain how your own data will be protected demonstrates that you’re not willing to be the new easy target for the cybercriminals they’re trying to mitigate.

Ready to Take Your Data Protection Seriously? Here Are Our Final Words of Advice

Above all, we must repeat ourselves: remember to ask every service provider you work with to explain explicitly how they will make sure your data remains secure. You should also ask them to outline their policy for informing clients in the case of a data breach. The more you insist that service providers be transparent about data security, the more seriously they will take the protection of your personal information.

Take it from us: any service provider who refuses to answer your questions or gives you vague information about their approach to data security should be immediately suspect. The fact of the matter is, in an increasingly virtual environment, there is no room for shortcuts when it comes to data security. If a service provider can’t answer your simple and fair questions, it’s time to find a new lawyer, accountant, healthcare provider, or business partner.

Just know that when it comes to data security, there is no such thing as being too informed or overly-prepared. Stay informed and up-to-date on existing threats and check-in with service providers now and then to inquire about data security updates. If you need support or want to learn more about how to prioritize your data security and take it seriously, never hesitate to reach out to a team of professional data security consultants for more information and strategies for staying proactive.

Let’s get proactive about your data security. Give us a call anytime at (770) 518-7087, or visit our website at www.360smartnetworks.com to chat with a live agent and book a data security consultation.