Working with third-party vendors is an inevitability for most companies, but such partnerships can manufacture additional cybersecurity vulnerabilities that need to be addressed. For businesses looking to avoid a data debacle, evaluating security standards should be a prerequisite to any professional partnership involving the exchange of sensitive data.

Customers and employees are increasingly unwilling to remain with platforms that can’t protect customer data, making data breaches a logistical and PR nightmare for any company. Therefore, when information is compromised, companies need to be swift and robust in their response. Providing supportive services that can identify how data is used after it is stolen can hasten a holistic recovery effort.

Today’s business environment often requires partnering with third-parties to provide the best experiences for your customers. Unfortunately, this also increases your company’s exposure to various cybersecurity risks, and every business needs to have effective recovery protocols in place to respond to these incidents.

Phishing scams are entirely defensible, and comprehensive awareness training can render such attacks useless. With phishing attacks on the rise, this training should be mandatory for every company storing personal data of employees or customers.

Phishing scams may be incredibly prevalent, but they are also entirely preventable. Despite the best efforts of automated detection services, businesses should assume that some phishing emails will make their way to your employees’ inboxes, making comprehensive awareness training a critical component of holistic data security.