Why should a marketer and PR specialist always keep the importance of cybersecurity in mind? The matter is that marketing and cybersecurity are directly interconnected. In the case of digital marketing, the potential threat from it is practically as essential as the possible benefit. Despite all the benefits, digital marketing strategies can become the source of some risks like loss of reputation, leakage of personal data of customers, and unfair competition. That’s why marketers and PR managers should take care of cybersecurity issues as well, manage the risks and follow the best data protection practices.
Protecting Customer Data Is Your Responsibility
If you don’t protect your customers’ data, your company’s data, your information resources, your reputation and your career are at risk. Both small and large companies are at cyber security risk and the number of cyberattacks is constantly increasing.
The Internet has penetrated so deeply that it would be foolish to deny the power and scope of this tool in the process of conquering markets and customers. After all, it is not at all necessary to be a professional hacker to hack into the Google account of a digital marketer or PR specialist and gain access to the information of more than one company. In just one account, there can be gigabytes of information that will bring a lot of trouble for both the specialist, the company and the clients.
Data Leak Risks When Delegating Marketing Tasks
Delegation is another potential data breach threat. And here, we are talking about both the threat of cooperation with unscrupulous contractors and the risks from outside. There is a need to recognize the issue of cyber security in advertising and other directions. Therefore, when choosing partners, you should pay attention to the approach to security. Marketers should work with website promotion service for SEO that have a good reputation and level of trust. First, it minimizes security risks. Secondly, it will allow you to get backlinks from quality platforms that will bring more value than 10 links from sites with poor quality. The links from trusted resources are what will help every marketer.
Special Vulnerability to Hacker Attacks
In the hands of marketers and PR specialists are the keys to many doors. Oftentimes, marketers and PR professionals are the least protected. Since, in fact, it is an open gate between the company and the virtual world.
The marketer and PR specialist work in cyberspace constantly. This is the working environment of such specialists. Therefore, it is important to understand that what you do constantly within the framework of your profession constantly immerses you in the risk zone of cyber attacks. For example, such a trick as setting a weak password for your Hubspot account or following a link from a phishing email can bring a lot of trouble.
You Are a Potential Phishing Target
The most insecure channel is, of course, email. Phishing emails are still common. Of course, any worker can open an infected email but even here, marketers and PR specialists are clearly more likely to fall into the trap. They are more active than others in communicating with the outside world, getting in touch with journalists, all kinds of contractors, and so on. A marketer or PR specialist is a link between the company and the digital world. Therefore, the issue of cybersecurity is extremely acute for such professionals.
Email hacking provides attackers with access to the contact database. This is enough to lose customers and permanently tarnish the company’s reputation. To avoid such situations, always be aware of the potential risks and check the accuracy of the information in the email.
Must Do List For Improving Cyber Security
So, what is important for a marketing specialist to do for better cybersecurity protection? Below you will find a list that will help you solve your security issue at a basic level. If your company does not have a security specialist, then make sure to follow the tips below to protect your reputation, the reputation of your company and sensitive business data:
- Always lock your laptop or smartphone. Danger can be not only inside your devices but also outside.
- Do not link all accounts to one mailbox. Create multiple accounts so that in case of hacking, attackers could not access the data. It is especially recommended not to mix business matters with personal ones. Therefore, be sure to create work and mail for personal use.
- Use strong passwords and change them regularly (for email, Google account, social media accounts, CRM system, etc.). Updating passwords is extremely important. Also, do not use the same combination for different accounts.
- Use random password generators instead of creating the passwords on your own. Never use the personal names, names of celebrities, countries or cities, as well as birthdates and other commonly known combinations of numbers.
- Enable two-factor authentication wherever possible. For example, you can use Google Authenticator and other free online services to secure your profiles.
- Use a password manager. There are various software that will allow you to manage your passwords and receive notifications promptly if there are any threats.
- Store work information on network drives to ensure its availability in case of loss of access.
- Give preference to devices with hardware encryption or use online file exchangers.
- Consult with cybersecurity experts. Types of threats are constantly changing, which means that some actions may no longer be effective in the context of cybersecurity. There is a need to know about the last innovations in this area.
- Always be aware of potential risks and your vulnerability.
- Do not click on suspicious links in social networks, messengers and emails.
- Use specialized software that will provide you with safe web surfing and will also check your files and emails for hacker threats. For example, you can use a tool like Office 365 Advanced Threat Protection.
Conclusion
The issue of cyber security is especially essential for marketing and PR specialists since they mostly work in a digital environment. Hackers and cyber attackers, in turn, are constantly coming up with new and new tricks, so make sure to follow the tips we have shared above to decrease the risk of sensitive data leakage.