How Digital Marketers Can Protect Valuable Data In The Face Of Rising Cyberattacks

The coronavirus crisis has upended how businesses operate. Many companies have moved their product and services online, and most employees are now working remotely or in a hybrid setting. We’ve also seen massive changes in how businesses market their products and services during the ongoing pandemic. As a result, some key digital marketing trends have emerged. 

There has been a drastic shift in buying behavior and consumption, prompting organizations to rethink their marketing strategy. Artificial intelligence, chatbots, social media, and video marketing are now commonplace in digital marketing. Marketing managers and CMOs could improve their chances just by shifting more resources to these areas. 

As a digital marketer, it’s imperative that you implement some of these innovative digital marketing trends to survive and thrive in the age of innovation. But there’s also another emerging issue to consider, cybersecurity. In the face of rising cybersecurity threats, one of the biggest challenges is ensuring the security of your entire marketing campaign, from your social media to email and website. 

How to Stay Secure

Businesses must adapt to the rapidly evolving changes in digital marketing to remain competitive in today’s online landscape. However, the changing business landscape has increased cybersecurity risks for digital marketers. The simple fact that most business interactions are now taking place online increases the likelihood of a successful attack significantly. 

Remote working also makes it difficult to contend with cyberattacks as we are missing the protection of a robust cybersecurity infrastructure in our corporate offices. As a digital marketer, working from home makes you an easy target for cybercriminals. So, how do digital marketers increase their security and protect their marketing campaigns? Here are several tips to stay secure. 

Use Antivirus Software

As a digital marketer, having a variety of cybersecurity tools in your arsenal is crucial when it comes to maximizing your security and preventing intrusion. Deploying security tools such as antivirus will keep threats such as malware from entering your computer system. Antivirus solutions are designed to detect and get rid of malware threats. Antivirus will protect your computer from a wide range of malware, including viruses, Trojans, worms, spyware, adware, and ransomware. Get antivirus and keep your device secure with automated, scheduled scans.  

Use a VPN

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) allows you to build a secure connection over the internet. It is a handy tool when it comes to staying safe online. Using a VPN service on your computer encrypts your internet traffic and generates a private browsing network. No one, including your ISP, can see into your online activities. A VPN will also ensure that hackers don’t intercept your data or steal your submitted payment details when using a public Wi-Fi hotspot.

Password Hygiene

Safe password practices and common sense can go a long way towards protecting you from cyber threats

 . For instance, using strong passwords for all your online accounts is one of the most effective ways to protect your data. Use strong, unique passwords for your computer and online accounts to make it harder for cybercriminals to hack into your system and snitch your data. Use different passwords for all your online accounts. Even if hackers were to crack one of your passwords, they wouldn’t get access to all your online accounts. 

Encryption

Encryption is a simple, effective, yet overlooked way of increasing data security. Encryption scrambles your data and makes it incomprehensible to those with unauthorized access. It’s one of the most effective defenses against data breaches as it renders sensitive data useless if it falls in the hands of the bad guys. Even if hackers manage to steal customer data or any other valuable information in your possession, encrypted data will be useless to them. They will not be able to sell or use it against you. 

Keep Your Software Up To Date

When it comes to protecting valuable information, keeping your software up to date is imperative. Software vendors are always looking for vulnerabilities in their code and release updates or patches periodically to fix them. Ensure that you download updates for your OS and apps as soon as they are made available. Gaps in software updates can make your device vulnerable to hacking attempts. Keep your operating system, apps, browsers, and plug-ins up to date to ensure security.

As a digital marketer, you handle not only company information but also customer data. Therefore, you need to be extra careful when implementing marketing campaigns. Exposing yourself to cyber risks such as password cracking, malware, and data theft could have devastating consequences. Implementing these tips will improve protection against a wide range of cyberattacks that involve digital marketing.