Running a business involves wearing a wide variety of hats. From sales to onboarding new team members to payroll and managing inventory, there’s a lot on your plate.
As a society, we’re now doing more and more online. This is extremely convenient, but it also carries some risks. In this article, we want to share a key piece of advice to help you maintain access to your digital accounts.
Always follow this
When it comes to setting up new accounts, be it for payroll software, ordering supplies or anything else in between, they should always be created with a company email address — preferably using a role-based email such as payroll@examplecompany.com etc. Ideally, they should also be set up in the name of the business owner, senior management or the business itself too.
In other words, do not allow team members to create accounts using their personal email. Request that all third-party providers, such as marketing support, create relevant accounts (such as Google Analytics) using one of your corporate email addresses. An address you will always have access to. To this end, you may even want to create a role-based marketing@ email for them to use for this purpose. This is crucial as it ensures that you always keep ownership and access to your accounts.
The last thing you want is to get locked out of an important account because it was set up in the name of a third-party vendor you no longer use or by an employee using their personal email. At the end of the day, data, including data that enables you to access various accounts, is a resource. How you manage that resource will have a significant impact on the success of your business.
It sounds simplistic, but you’d be amazed at how often it’s not followed. For many, it’s more convenient to use a personal email. It’s the path of least resistance. Just as it is more convenient to use the same password for 8 different accounts (please don’t do this either), so it goes with creating accounts with personal emails. Again, it comes back to wearing all those hats and being pulled in many directions. But following this simple trick can save you a lot of (potential) pain!
How many hats do you wear in an average day? These two wear a few…
Looking for data security support?
At SeekingFire Consulting Inc., we work with clients across Western Canada. We help large institutions, tech startups and others ensure they have robust data security procedures in place. We also offer a no-judgement approach. Often, resources are stretched or growth is rapid, so data security procedures may need a refresh. We get that.
We offer a diversity of services from one-off security assessments and audits to the development of Security Incident Response Plans and more. We even offer a Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) service on a contract basis!
No matter your industry or niche, if you have a digital footprint that involves storing proprietary information, client details, payroll info or more you need to ensure you’re adequately protected. Please reach out to us for a no-obligation consultation to discuss your specific needs. We’d love to hear from you!
Disclaimer
While we have made every effort to present accurate, unbiased and helpful information in this article, please note that it reflects the author’s opinion and is written for the purposes of general knowledge, information and discussion. This article is not intended as legal advice, nor should it be considered as advice specific to your individual data security situation. If you would like to discuss your cybersecurity needs in specific detail, please get in touch with us.
