Why is cybersecurity important for your expense management operations?

As digitalization becomes our new reality, more and more companies are adopting modern technology, such as expense management software. Expense management software holds data like employee names and details, corporate credit card information, transaction statements and financial history. You can see that the tool is equipped with a lot of useful and sensitive data. Therefore, companies should be careful when choosing the solution. This step should be taken to identify and assess risks that could potentially expose your system to cyberattacks. So, why and how your expense management tool should be secured from data breach?

What is data breach?

Before going deeper in this question, it should be explained at first what exactly data breach means. 

A data breach occurs when the data for which your company/organisation is responsible suffers a security incident resulting in a breach of confidentiality, availability or integrity. It can be intentional or accidental. A cybercriminal may hack the database of a company where you’ve shared your personal information. Or an employee at that company may accidentally expose your information on the Internet. Either way, criminals may access your key personal details and profit from them at your expense. Data breach happens more often, then we imagine. According to a 2021 report from IBM and the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach among companies surveyed reached $4.24 million per incident in 2021, the highest in 17 years.

The damage a data breach can do

A data breach can have a devastating effect on an organization's reputation and financial bottom line. Organizations such as Equifax, Target, and Yahoo, for example, have been the victims of a data breach. And today, many people associate/remember those companies for the data breach incident itself, rather than their actual business operations. But not only big companies are in danger, but the IBM report also confirmed data breaches take a bigger toll on smaller organizations. Large businesses with more than 25,000 employees average data breach costs of $5.11 million or $204/employee, whereas companies with 500 to 1000 employees average $2.65 million, or $3,533/employee. It is no surprise therefore that smaller organizations struggle to recover in the wake of data breaches, with many folding within the first six months after an incident. So what can you do to reduce the likelihood of an attack by cybercriminals?

How to avoid expense management from data breach?

It’s necessary to try to keep your data safe. That's why you should remember that prevention needs to include everyone at all levels in the company — from end-users to IT personnel, and all people in between. Every person that interacts with a system can be a potential vulnerability. 

Hackers or cybercriminals can use phishing, malware, social engineering, or related techniques to steal information from you. 

You can take steps to strengthen your expense management against the damage which could result from your data being breached. Here’s our checklist:

Use powerful anti-malware software

First thing you need to be assured of is to have anti-malware software on their device. Anti-malware It is also used to detect and prevent malware coming from the Internet.

Currently, there are several anti-malware programs with a wide range of security features. Antivirus programs offer firewalls, protection against spam, email, phishing and web browsing. These security features can help keep your company safe from hacker attacks.

Secure your company's hardware 

Although most data breaches occur through remote attacks by hackers, physical access to devices to steal data is still evident. You shouldn't forget to protect your company's equipment. The loss or theft of these devices can lead to serious problems, and you should be aware of this. 

One basic strategy is to protect devices with strong passwords. In addition, access to expense management software should also be protected with a strong password.

Encrypt your confidential data

When you have access to confidential information, such as employee and business data, you need to make sure it doesn't land in the wrong hands. Sensitive and private data should be kept secure and protected from cyberattacks on the Internet. This can be achieved by encrypting the data. Data encryption can render stolen information useless to a hacker even if they gain access to it.

Protect your expense management data

As already mentioned, dealing with a data breach can be a long and stressful ordeal. It can also be a painful and nightmare experience for the company and the associated stakeholders. 

With the upper provided checklist of activities, you can always prevent or try to contain a data breach before it gets worse. By making use of strong passwords, anti-malware, and encryption technology, you can protect your expense management software. 

Fortunately, Jenji has thought about all the details to secure your expense management data and created a robust software that keeps your company data safe and sound! You want to know more? Do not hesitate to contact our team at sales@jenji.io .