These days, the most dangerous threat to businesses and organizations won't be seen walking through your door. Instead, it will breach your organization’s walls through your network, coming in over your wifi - and you may not even find out about it until months or years later.
Unlike physical security threats, which don't change much over time, cyber threats evolve and change quickly - so quickly, in fact, that it can be a real challenge to keep up. Last year, the Business Continuity Institute named cyber crime the biggest threat to businesses in 2016, and that prediction seems to be holding true. With organizations from major film studios to presidential campaigns suffering from cyber attacks, there’s no excuse for not focusing on data security. Here are 4 tips for making your organization safer from cyber crime.
Always update and patch your operating systems
There's a reason your system provider releases updates. Sometimes it's to improve functionality, but there's also, almost always, a security issue that's being addressed.
Failing to update your software on time can mean that you’re vulnerable to the latest methods that hackers are using to attack your systems. Since these become more sophisticated as time goes on, it’s vital to ensure that your network maintains the latest cyber defenses at all times.
The same is true of patches, which are pieces of software that fix a specific problem within a larger operating system. Sometimes they’re to fix a bug, but more often, they’re to address a security vulnerability.
Utilize encryption throughout your system, especially in the cloud
Encryption, which means that your data is scrambled so as to be unreadable by intruders, is one of the most basic steps in ensuring your organization’s cyber security. Data “at rest” - in other words, data that is not currently being used or viewed by someone - should always be encrypted.
This is achievable with simple encryption software, although many software solutions like the Verint Media Recorder automatically encrypt all data.
If you have files that are especially sensitive, you may want to consider using file encryption in addition to your system-wide encryption. And if you’re storing information in the cloud, ensure the service you’re using employs industry-standard or better encryption.
In the past, storing data in the cloud was often seen as less secure than storing it in on-site servers, but according to the publication Information Age, this isn’t the case. The real issue is not where your data is located, but how accessible it is, reports TechTarget.
Control data accessibility at every level of your organization
On that note, it’s important to realize that hackers can’t break into your systems unless there’s a vulnerability. And while there’s bound to be a vulnerability, however tiny, in nearly every system, you can do a great deal to prevent additional ones from appearing.
The most effective way to do this is to control who has access to your data at every level of the organization. This means not using the same password for multiple databases, or keeping one password for more than a year.
Instead, use a password manager. These programs save your passwords securely, allowing you to create random or highly secure passwords without having to worry about remembering them. Some programs even offer additional levels of security by requiring that a physical fob be placed into the device in order to unlock the passwords.
Build a workplace culture that prioritizes data security
Believe it or not, insider attacks have been rated the number one cyber security risk to organizations by CIO magazine.
If your workplace culture isn’t one that prioritizes data security, employees may be much more likely to share login information, discuss classified information, or use their own password to help a colleague log in to a database he or she isn’t supposed to have access to.
While there may be no malicious intent behind any of these actions, this can lead to situations that make your data much more vulnerable to attack. And if there is a disgruntled employee or ex-employee who intends to do harm to your organization, he or she will be able to carry it out much more easily if the culture around data security is too relaxed.
Cyber security should be a major concern for not only IT leaders, but all organizational leaders. To read more about protecting your company from these attacks, read our post “The Importance of Proactive Cyber Security for Contact Centers.”
Rolling out new software like a workforce management suite or a workforce optimization suite is an exciting, yet challenging experience. As a leader in your organization, it’s up to you to make sure your workforce actually reaps the many benefits that this software offers - better productivity, easier communication, and increased efficiency among others.
But as any IT professional will tell you, rolling out new software is a complex process that often includes a few twists and turns. Follow these guidelines to help make your rollout progress smoothly.
1. Establish and document clear business objectives from the outset.
In any rollout, communication is key. You probably know exactly what benefits the new software will bring to your organization from the time you spent building your business case for it. However, you need to remember that your team hasn’t spent nearly as much time thinking about the software as you have.
Even if you’ve already discussed why you’re implementing new software, you need to establish a clear set of business objectives if you’re going to get your whole team fully on board. Share this strategic vision with your team early, before the rollout process begins.
2. Plan when to roll out the new software carefully.
Planning when to roll out your new software is just as important as planning how to do it. Choose a time when your team members don’t have lots of other projects, deadlines, or additional pressures to deal with.
Likewise, it’s probably best to avoid the week around a holiday, when team members may be taking time off or not as focused on their work.
3. Review your current business processes and workflows to identify where changes will need to occur.
Once you’ve established your business objectives, it’s time to start reviewing the way your business currently operates. Using your business objectives as a guide, look at the various processes, workflows, and operations that will be affected by the new software. How are they working currently? Are there specific points at which bottlenecks or confusion tend to occur?
When you’ve identified these points, document them clearly and add this list to your business objectives. Together, these documents will show your team the reasons for adopting the new software.
4. Define any new workflows, processes, and changes in responsibility.
New software will almost undoubtedly mean that certain workflows and processes will change. While many of these changes may be welcome ones, depending on how broken or tedious your current processes are, there will be others that may be met with resistance.
Laying out exactly what will change, and how it will change, will help your team members feel more comfortable and prepared for the new software rollout when it occurs. For each new workflow, define the benefits that the new technology will offer, the steps that must be in place for a successful adoption, and any changes in responsibility that team members may have.
5. Invest in training.
Finding the proper training should be part of your plan from the beginning. Training is key to the success of new software, because if people don’t know how to use it - and especially, if they don’t know how to use it in a way that makes their jobs easier - they won’t bother using it. If that happens, all you’ve gained after all that work is a very expensive program taking up space on your server.
It’s important to schedule the training sessions in a way that will make them the most efficient and effective. While everyone should most likely attend an initial session to introduce them to the new software, after that it may work best to offer smaller, more focused trainings on specific functions or workflows.
This way, team members don’t have to spend inordinate amounts of time learning about features they may never need to use.
Rolling out new software is a complex process, but the benefits these systems can have for your employees are huge. To learn more about how enterprise software solutions can help your contact center, read our post “Revealing the Benefits of Unified Call Center Solutions.”
In today’s world, it’s no longer good enough to only provide reactive customer service. You can’t just wait for a problem to arise and then react to it when a customer complains. Many people look at this as the contact center’s main job—dealing with problems as they arise. But that’s not a good strategy for retaining customers and bringing in new revenue. What it takes now is proactive customer service.
When a customer orders a product now, most companies send them an email with its tracking number as soon as it ships. That’s proactive. The customer has the number and can track the package without needing to call your contact center when it’s a day or two late. Instead, they see that it took a little longer in Ohio, and it should be there on Friday.
Have you noticed that when you fly anywhere now, the airline offers to text or email you updates? That’s proactive. Even if they’re texting you to tell you the plane will be delayed, it’s still tipping off the customer ahead of time.
At KOVA, we’re always looking for ways to help contact centers improve their efficiency and customer service. Our Impact 360 Customer Feedback can help you gather valuable feedback from customers at the end of their calls through IVR or email surveys. Contact us today to find out more about what software solutions from KOVA can do for your contact center.
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