3 Security Tips For Wedding Pros

By Cassie Phillips

Book More Brides knows weddings, and they know how to make it in the industry. Every single article they have on their website has allowed me to get a clearer idea of what the industry is like and what people need to do to improve their lot. After reading this, you should take a look at their recent post on what to do with your website.

Planning weddings is a detail-oriented profession, and you have to take every little detail into consideration in order to succeed and grow. On top of this, your reputation is your business model.

A cybercriminal attack on your business is an event that can potentially ruin your business or at least set you back months.

If you lose client data, why would anyone trust you?

Fortunately, you can protect your livelihood and just focus on creating the weddings your clients deserve.

It is more about habits than tools, and more about a mindset than investing time and resources. Now is the time to begin.

Here are a few security tips for you to protect your wedding planning business:

#1 – Have a Defined Plan

Your business will only be as strong as your weakest link. If you work with anyone, you need to be on the same page as them when it comes to cybersecurity.

This means having general policies, even if they are just for yourself. That way you can tell your clients that their secret plans and information are safe as can be.

Be okay with the fact that you might not understand everything at the start. Things such as password security and secure backups are simple enough, but website security and the finer points of encryption will come slowly to most.

Sit down, review all of the different aspects of security that pertain to your business, and write them down. Once you have a plan set, it will pay unparalleled dividends in the peace of mind it gives you and your clients.

#2 – Use a Virtual Private Network

You will likely meet clients in public places. In a lot of these meetings, you will have to bring your work devices with you or download files over the public network provided by the place of meeting.

While this use of a public network is convenient, it is also dangerous, as even unskilled hackers can intercept data being transmitted over a public network with a simple setup. Your client’s info (and your own) could be stolen.

This is unacceptable for any professional, which is why you need a Virtual Private Network (VPN). A VPN will connect your device to an offsite server using an encrypted connection. The encrypted connection will act as a tunnel through which your data travels, meaning that hackers won’t be able to touch it.

The server will also hide your IP address, allowing you to communicate with discretion. Finally, you can gain access to whatever websites you need to help you plan, as a VPN will get you by unreasonable restrictions and blocks.

#3 – Avoid Cloud Services

An important thing to note is that a lot of small businesses and professionals will try to use cloud storage or other cloud services when trying to grow. While this is a smart move from a financial standpoint, any business handling important customer data or other sensitive materials should steer clear of these services for important data due to the risks involved.

While the services are generally okay to use and convenient for interaction, these services have a history of being breached by cybercriminals. Any important data is sold to the highest bidder.

If your clients ever found out that their data was leaked from a cloud service, then you won’t be doing business with them for much longer.

Instead of a cloud service, try using flash drives if you don’t have too much data to keep and external hard drives if you do. The cost is well worth the control you get, and you can keep the storage offline when it is not being used.

Do you have any other tips for keeping your wedding business safe?

 

Cassie is an internet security and technology enthusiast. Sharing her knowledge with those who can benefit is a passion of hers, especially when it comes to small businesses because she likes to show you can be secure on a budget.