“I think computer viruses should count as life. I think it says something about human nature that the only form of life we have created so far is purely destructive.” – Stephen Hawking
Are you the owner or IT manager of a business? Do you know what a virtual data room is, and why you should consider using such a room to enhance your digital security options?
It’s common knowledge that hackers will do almost anything to get hold of your customers’ sensitive data. It doesn’t matter whether you have an eCommerce site or not; it is modern-day practice to store details of sales transactions (including credit card details) in a company database of sorts. By inference this scenario lends itself to the fact that this sensitive data is left open to hacking.
To prevent identity theft and the loss of such sensitive data, the questions is how do you stop hackers and other miscellaneous persons from stealing your client’s personal details.
Data Security and the VDR
According to Nate Lord of the Digital Guardian, “Data security is a top concern not only for enterprises and small business… With widespread data breaches exposing everything from customer login credentials to credit card information to personal health records, consumers [and businesses] must be savvy about data security and take steps to protect their own information. ”
How do you protect your customers’ information?
One of the best ways to ensure that your company’s data is protected is to make use of a VDR or Virtual Data Room. In essence, this Virtual Data Room is an online storehouse of information that is utilized to store and share documents and confidential information to authorized users only. It is interesting to note that most of these documents and information are generated during the creation of financial transactions.
In my opinion, the best method to describe the function of a VDR is to cite an example. Therefore, for this article, let’s assume that you are the owner of s SME (Small Medium Enterprise) and you grow your business by purchasing a related business. Part of the purchase process is to conduct a Due Diligence audit of the company before you sign the final contract. Ergo, you need access to all of the relevant financial and customer documents to check whether the firm lives up to its advertising blurb.
Arguably, the most secure way to access this documentation is to set up a Virtual Data Room where you can access the documents online in a secure environment without hackers or unscrupulous people getting hold of the sensitive data. Furthermore, if your physical office is located far away from the new company’s offices, viewing these documents online will enable you to complete the audit without having to incur costly travel expenses as well as running the risk of exposing this documentation to the public domain via email or other document management servers.
This is just one way in which a VDR’s digital security precautions can be used in business. VDR’s have many applications, and you’ll find that the sooner you start using one, the sooner you’ll be able to apply its security functionality to many areas of your business.
