Do you own a marketing agency? Do you want to make sure everything stays secure? Read on for some helpful tips!
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Use a Content Management Platform
One great way to start securing your marketing agency is to use a content management platform to help keep your content secure. This will keep you from having to use tons of software and services to access your files. That way, you don’t have to worry about using one tool for your social media content and another tool for business documents.
Select one tool or platform to use to store all of your content. Then, you and your agency employees only have to use that one platform to work. Not only will that keep your agency secure, but your employees won’t have to use tons of passwords.
Research Third-Party Apps
You can find tons of third-party apps online to use with your content system. However, do as much research as you can on a particular tool before you use it. Use your research to check for any security issues or other problems the tool has had.
That way, you won’t have to add anything to your agency’s processes that you don’t trust. Look at customer reviews and ratings. Ask the company for more information on your tool before you start using it. Then, you can make sure it’s worth it.
Use Autolock Settings
In your agency office, make sure all of your computers and devices will lock after a period of inactivity. The period could be as short as 30 seconds or as long as a few minutes. Either way, you don’t want to let a screen stay up indefinitely.
While you may trust yourself and your employees, you can’t be too safe. Autolock can prevent people from accessing other peoples’ computers and files. If you happen to have an employee who wants to hack into another computer, autolock can be a great line of defense.
Consider a VPN
A virtual private network (VPN) is a network that allows you to access the internet securely. VPNs are especially useful if you store most of your documents in the cloud. Having a company VPN can also help if you or your employees work remotely sometimes.
You can get a VPN plan for your company for a decent price, so you can make sure your employees do their work from a secure network. Then, you don’t have to worry about their connection when they work from home or in a public place.
Get a Private WiFi Network
If you won’t be working remotely, you can get a secure WiFi network for your office. Employees can use the WiFi network when they’re at work, and you can set a private password. That way, you can keep the public from getting access to the network when people visit.
Another option to consider is simply using a wired connection. If you and your employees all use desktops, you can avoid the issue of WiFi completely. Then, you can make sure that people can’t hack into the WiFi network and get access to your files.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication
Whenever you get a new app that you and your employees use, check to see if it offers multi-factor authentication. This is where you need to use a second device, such as a phone, to verify that you are who you say you are. It can be a great way to control access to your agency.
Multi-factor authentication can be annoying, and it will add a second or two to the login process. However, that extra second is worth the security it gives you. Employees will have to use both factors to get into their work, and you can make one of those factors something that people can’t guess.
Create Unique Users
You should also create unique login information for each of your employees. If people have to share an account, that means it can be hard to track who does what. Someone could use another account to do something malicious, but you won’t know that. So you could end up wasting time asking an employee about something they didn’t do.
Make sure each of your employees has access to their own account for your main system and any related accounts. That way, they can do their work without needing to share passwords or other sensitive information.
Use a Zero Trust Model
Another way to secure your marketing agency is to use zero trust security. This is where your system doesn’t trust anything on the inside or outside. Once it learns that something is trustworthy, it can recognize it, but it will start off by not trusting anyone or anything.
Using this model may seem extreme, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. You can teach the model to recognize and allow certain people. But whenever even a small attack occurs, the system will know not to trust the user.
Outline Your Processes
Once you set up your systems and processes, outline them in a document or set of documents. Then, you can give the processes to your employees. Make your processes as detailed as you can to help employees understand how everything works.
Include what employees can expect when logging in, how to log out, and more. If you get questions from your employees, include them and their answers in the document. Send out the new version, and let your employees know they can review that documentation to save everyone time.
Provide Training
Along with providing a document on security processes, train your employees. Have a meeting when you first implement the process and whenever you make significant changes. Then, you can answer questions and go over things in more detail.
Your employees will then know how to do their work. And you can teach people who learn better by listening instead of only through written materials. Training may take time, but it’s crucial for keeping everyone on the same page.
If you run a marketing agency, you know what it takes to market a business. But security is just as vital to business growth and success. Keep these things in mind when securing your agency.