There is a level of freedom and control with freelance work that you simply cannot get from traditional employment. While there are undeniable benefits to being your own boss, you need to be aware of the challenges. One prominent challenge in the modern era is cybersecurity. Cybercrime is on the rise, which is why every freelancer needs to know how to protect their data like a pro. By borrowing a few lessons from established businesses, you can develop robust protection so that you can work with confidence each day. Read on to discover the best strategies for protecting your data as a freelancer.
Prioritize Protecting Your Laptop
For most freelancers, their laptop is their entire operation. Therefore, you need to treat your laptop like a valuable corporate asset and take steps to protect it. This should include measures like keeping software and the operating system up to date for protection against the latest threats, using a firewall, and installing high-quality antivirus software. It is also wise to use encryption so that your files cannot be accessed if your laptop is lost or stolen.
Create Backups
Every established business will have a robust backup strategy in place. This is key for protection against ransomware (a growing threat), accidental deletion, and hardware failure. As a freelancer, losing your data could be devastating, so you need to make sure that you have your own backup strategy in place. This should include at least one local backup to an external hard drive and one cloud backup. Be sure to choose a backup provider offering version history so that you can restore old versions if files become corrupted or encrypted.
Adopt Constant Vigilance Habits
Larger companies utilize managed detection and response services from cybersecurity specialists like Red Canary. This is wise because it means they benefit from 24/7 monitoring from cyber experts using advanced tools that enable instant threat detection. This means that larger companies can have threats neutralized before they cause damage with protection across different endpoints, accounts, and cloud environments. If you have a smaller operation, you can learn from this approach by regularly reviewing account logins and connected apps, using security tools that provide alerts to unusual activity, and responding immediately to any suspicious behavior.
Keep Client Data Separate
You should also take steps to protect client data, particularly when working with sensitive information. This is why it is a good idea to use encrypted drives or secure cloud folders that will safeguard this valuable data. Additionally, if you collaborate with others, only share links to those who truly need access – the principle of least privilege is a security concept that freelancers should borrow from bigger companies when it comes to collaboration.
These are some of the best lessons that freelancers can learn from larger companies when it comes to cybersecurity. As a freelancer, you are responsible for protecting your own data, and this will be crucial to your reputation and ongoing success. Hopefully, this post will be informative and help you take positive steps to develop robust protection.
