On this blog, we talk a lot about protecting the data relating to your customers and consumers. While that is a super important topic, it is not the only data you need to be protecting. Protecting employee data is just as important, and today, we’re going to talk about how you can do it effectively.
Legal Precedent
First of all, there is a legal precedent to prove that employee privacy is something you don’t want to take for granted. In the Dittman v. UPMC class-action suit, this was proven. After the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and UPMC McKeesport had data stolen from hackers, the employees had the case ruled in their favor, since their data had been stolen. Their data had been used to illegally file tax returns, which costed the Internal Revenue Service a pretty big sum. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court said, “an employer has a legal duty to exercise reasonable care to safeguard its employees’ sensitive personal information stored by the employer on an internet-accessible computer system.”
Nationally, employees also have their privacy protected by the Privacy Act of 1974.
Keep in mind that we’re not legal professionals and this is not legal advice, but this information is pretty important for you to know about.
Protecting Your Employee’s Privacy
Here are a few simple ways you can protect your employees that we would recommend:
Private Wi-Fi Connections
Every business should have a private and secure Wi-Fi signal. If you are using a public signal, that is practically an invitation for hackers to seep in, potentially putting your employees at risk.
Internet Filtering
This step is a little funny because it is protecting your employees from, well, your employees. Having an internet filtering tool makes it so your employees can’t access websites that might allow threats into your system. Not only can internet filtering be helpful for your business as a whole (because you can block time-wasting sites), but it can help save your employees and network from harmful sites that may even seem legitimate.
Virtual Private Network Use
VPNs are a great way to protect your network from any cybercriminal activity happening. A VPN makes it so anything you share over the internet is encrypted and can also help to shield your remote employee’s identities and locations.
Device Protections
It would be silly if we didn’t recommend using basic safeguards like antivirus protection and spam blockers. These protections can help your business as a whole from incoming threats.
Access Controls
Your data should only be accessible to those on your team who need it. The fewer eyes on your data, the better. Access controls make it possible to ensure that your data is only seen on a need-to-know basis, with controls like multi-factor authentication, and other safeguards.
Respect Employee Privacy
You should always think about your employees and their privacy when it comes to your software, applications and network use. MyTek is here to help with any security solutions you need to be protecting employee data effectively. Call us at 623-312-2440 to learn more about these safeguards.