Data Protection Day: 7 steps to take today to protect your small business

The 2024 Cyber Security Breaches Survey reported that 50% of businesses have faced some form of breach in the previous 12 months, with a breach costing an average of £1,205 – and that number increases to above £10k for medium to large businesses. So, in honour of Data Protection Day, here are some steps you can take today to protect your small business from data breaches in the future. But first, what is Data Protection Day?

What is Data Protection Day?

Launched by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2006, Data Protection Day takes place on 28 January of each year. It’s designed to raise awareness about data protection, the challenges associated with protecting data, and the consequences of breaches. 

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7 steps to take today to protect your small business 

Here are 7 things you can start doing now to safeguard your small business from data breaches.  

Get informed 

Regulations are always changing – get (and stay) ahead of them by remaining informed. The key reason for regularly reading up on data protection announcements is that cyber attackers are always learning and finding new ways to get into the core of your business and steal sensitive information. You must learn at the same pace they do. Not to mention, it’s vital to remain compliant with upcoming regulations. 

Reassess your technology 

In a similar vein, as attackers become more sophisticated, so does the technology designed to prevent them. Make sure your systems are as up to date as they can be and if not, consider if it may be time to invest in something new. If you are looking to upgrade your equipment, asset finance can be a helpful tool for small businesses, enabling you to spread the cost of a new purchase across an extended period. 

Educate your team 

A startling number of breaches could be prevented by proper team awareness. Remember that report we shared earlier? It also disclosed that the most common type of breaches is phishing, with a shocking 84% of breached businesses having experienced this form of attack. 

Phishing is a type of email attack (but some cyber criminals have been known to use social media and mobile messaging channels too) where the attacker impersonates someone reputable (eg a government official, another company, or even someone you know) in order to gain sensitive information from the email recipient. These emails can even come from “the CEO” through a similar looking but slightly altered email address. 

Proper cyber education (in which you show employees how to spot these emails) can go a long way in protecting your team from this sort of attack. 

Consider the “why”

Understanding why data protection matters and considering the reasons behind its various components will go a long way in boosting your data protection efforts. 

For instance, a big part of data protection is building trust. You’re signalling to your customers that you respect their privacy enough to go above and beyond in safeguarding the information they entrust you with. Understanding this can help improve your data protection efforts by motivating you to implement stronger security measures, such as encrypting or tokenising data so that even internal team members don’t see anything a customer might want to keep private. 

Or, the same above purpose might encourage you to put a scheme in place that gives customers control over their own data, letting them decide how much they share and how it's used. 

Implement internal access controls 

Prevent data leaks by reducing the number of people who have access to sensitive information and ensuring proper access control measures are implemented. 

Passwords, passwords, passwords! 

30% of people online have had their data breached as a result of weak passwords. Ensure your team is setting strong passwords by implementing certain measures. For instance, insist on regularly updating passwords, ensure passwords are more than 10 characters, and use a mixture of upper and lowercase, numbers and symbols.  

Categorise data effectively 

Not all breaches are equal. Different data types have varying levels of value – it’s possible you may need to implement a categorisation system that ensures the most sensitive data is kept under severe lock and key. For example, the addresses and credit card details of your customers should be kept on a higher priority list than say a document that will be made publicly available in the future, but is currently undergoing a few proofreading rounds. 

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Looking for funding to launch a new data protection scheme? 

If you need funding to launch a new data protection programme to better safeguard your team, we may be able to help. We help connect eligible businesses to our network of over 120 lenders offering business loans starting from £1,000. Just click the link below and submit your information and we’ll be in touch shortly to let you know if you’re eligible for a loan of up to £20M. 

Find a business loan.

Please note that the information above is not intended to be financial advice. You should seek independent financial advice before making any decisions about your financial future.

It’s important to remember that all loans and credit agreements come with risks. These risks include non-payment and late-payment of the agreed repayment plan, which could affect your business credit score and impact your ability to find future funding. Always read the terms and conditions of every loan or credit agreement before you proceed. Contact us for support if you ever face difficulties making your repayments.

Funding Options, now part of Tide, helps UK firms access business finance, working directly with businesses and their trusted advisors. Funding Options are a credit broker and do not provide loans directly. All finance and quotes are subject to status and income. Applicants must be aged 18 and over and terms and conditions apply. Guarantees and Indemnities may be required. Funding Options can introduce applicants to a number of providers based on the applicants' circumstances and creditworthiness. Funding Options will receive a commission or finder’s fee for effecting such finance introductions.