There are over 500 Million entrepreneurs all over the world and the number is rising steadily. Customer security is of utmost importance to most enterprises operating in diverse domains, be it B2B SaaS, telecom, BFSI, or, OTT (Over-the-Top). Nowadays, most of the entrepreneurs have customer support teams for their businesses. There were more than 1000 incidents of data breaches in the U.S. in 2018, while the number of exposed customer records spiked over 400 Million. This is just a glimpse of the increasing customer security threats across the globe. Your customer support system can be a gateway to such incidents, unless proper security measures are taken.
Here are a few tips on how to ensure no data-breach happens from your customer support side when dealing with highly sensitive customer data-
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Robust Authentication Process
Talking about authentication for the customers, the first thing that comes in our mind is suggesting them to set up a strong password. But it’s not enough. To ensure your customer data security, always add layers to the customer authentication process such as two-factor authentication or other multi-factor authentication. Try to leverage various channels such as messages, push notifications etc. In this way, no one else will be able to access customer account even if the customer log-in id and password gets leaked.
According to survey, customers interact with brands two times more on mobile than anywhere else and there are always chances of data breach if proper authentication is not followed.
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Segregating Customer Data
It is obvious that your customer support system handles sensitive customer data related to their subscription, purchase history, location, address, e-mail id, and many more. To safeguard these confidential customer data, segregate those on the basis of priority and risk factors. For instance, customer card details, location, user id, password, etc. should be stored in a separate access controlled system supported by regular auditing and monitoring. Always mark emails, documents, chats, and others containing confidential customer data and store them in a high security access control system. It is recommended to not store such data in public cloud systems as it will cause data breach if the cloud system is hacked or compromised.
Do you know, in 2019, the Mexico-based digital media company Cultura Colectiva exposed over 540 Million Facebook user records on an AWS server?
You can also read: How to Choose the Best Customer Helpdesk Software
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IP Whitelisting
IP whitelisting can be another tool to boost the security of your customer support system. It compares the user’s IP address with a list of allowed IP addresses to determine whether the device is authorized to access the user account. IP whitelisting is quite helpful in preventing unauthorized access to customer data.
In December, 2020, an undisclosed number of Spotify users had their passwords reset after unauthorized access due to some software vulnerability.
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Auto-Reporting of Unauthorized Access
One of the effective ways to detect any possible risk of data loss or breach is auto-reporting of unauthorized access. Most of the quality customer support systems provide this feature to make the task easier for your customer support team. And the good news is, auto-reporting helps in preventing unauthorized access on time and saves your business and customers from severe loss.
The number of blocked unauthorized access per day increased by close to 50% globally.
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Encrypting Hosted Data
Data encryption minimizes the risk of data disclosure in case the storage device is stolen or lost. Ensure that your customer support team uses encrypted hard drives for storing customer data. Data encryption is also necessary before sharing any confidential customer data over the network.
Do you know, nearly 20% of the data breaches are caused by human error? Data encryption can significantly lower the risks in such cases.
Wrapping Up
Security should be one of the key focus areas for the entrepreneurs with customer support teams. A slight ignorance may cost you a customer putting your brand in jeopardy. Adopting optimum security level for your customer support system may take time, effort, and most importantly, constant research. Always stay up-to-date with the security threats by attending top-tech webinars on platform security and data protection.
Check out Tattle, a all-in-one omnichannel customer support and ticketing system from Muvi. It helps you in creating your own workflow while tracking and managing each ticket seamlessly across multiple teams.
