In an increasingly digital commercial world, data is a highly valuable commodity, and none more so than customer data.
With the rapid rise of e-commerce, omnichannel engagement, and customer service platforms, companies are now collecting and handling more customer information than ever before. Moreover, with cybercrime consistently on the rise, that data is under increased threat, which means cybersecurity is now a critical aspect of what constitutes good customer service.
As a business owner, you understand that your customer trust is the lifeblood of commerce, and your success depends on your ability to protect their data effectively. Here, we’ll discuss ways that you can do just that.
- Utilize Virtual Private Networks
Nowadays, with more and more companies going digital, it’s increasingly likely that some or all of your customer service team will be working off-site at least a portion of the time. In this situation, they will need to remotely access customer information from your database, which can put that data at risk, but Virtual Private Networks (VPN) can help in this regard.
VPNs are well-known for the locational flexibility they offer. A Canadian VPN can bypass geo-blocks for employees working outside of Canada, for example, while a USA VPN can allow remote workers elsewhere to access restricted American sites. However, they also play a major role in strengthening security and can help you protect your customers’ data. This is because VPNs use strong encryption protocols to create a secure tunnel for data transmission, ensuring that data is never exposed to cyber threats while in transit.
By using a VPN, you can secure internal communications and remote access for your customer service team, ensuring that you safeguard sensitive personal information. Moreover, it will help to ensure compliance with regulations such as GDPR, protecting both your customers and your business.
- Implement robust access control measures
To effectively and reliably protect customer data, you need to ensure that only authorized employees are able to access the systems where that data is stored. Implementing robust access control measures, specifically role-based access control (RBAC), is the way to do this.
When RBAC is in effect, databases are controlled according to the principle of least privilege, meaning that users are only granted the level of access that they require to fulfill their duties. This will mean, for example, that a typical customer service representative may only have access to surface-level information about customers, such as order details and interaction logs, whereas a manager may have access to more sensitive information, such as billing or security information.
By protecting against internal breaches and unauthorized access, RBAC can help you to ensure that your customers’ private data is safeguarded.
- Employ Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
When utilizing customer service platforms that have access to your customer information database, you need to have appropriate protection against threats like phishing and social engineering. For this reason, it is essential to utilize Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on all user accounts.
Using MFA means that employees are required to verify their identities in more than one way when accessing their accounts, whether that’s by email, OTP, or even biometrics. This means that a password alone is not enough to gain access, so should an employee’s password be compromised, you can rest assured malicious threat actors will not be able to access your customer data while you reset their credentials.
With MFA, you can significantly lessen the potential risk of unauthorized access to customer service platforms. As such, you can better protect vital data assets like communication logs, emails, personal information, and payment details to ensure that you maintain the trust and loyalty of your customer base.
Summing up
In the age of digital business, customer data is perhaps the single most valuable asset that your company can possess, and with the threat of cyber threats looming, digital security is now a fundamental component of true customer service. As such, it stands to reason that you should do all you can to afford due protection to your customer data.
By utilizing VPNs, implementing comprehensive access control measures, and employing multi-factor authentication, you can effectively secure the digital platforms that store, handle, and manage your customer data assets. In doing so, you will not only safeguard your vital data assets but also the invaluable trust and relationships you’ve created, providing you with a platform on which to build future success.
