Businesses may lose up to 50% of their customers following a data breach, according to one study. Coworking is a growing trend right now, but it comes with data security risks. These include theft of client information, malware, and hacking. Rather than risk losing your customers’ data and their business, here’s what you need to do to protect it.

Shield computer screens

48% of people who work in coworking spaces say that lack of privacy is a problem. One of the biggest risks when coworking is that competitors steal key customer information from your workers’ computer screens as they walk past them. Not only is this a problem to your business but it’s also a data protection breach if you store personal information about them, such as their address or bank account details. You can stop this from happening by ensuring all workers have a privacy screen protector installed. These are simple devices that stop passers-by from seeing what’s on your screen. The information only becomes visible when you’re sitting directly in front of the screen. It’s also worth putting up partitions between desks to stop visual hackers from getting your customers’ data.

Back up everything 

During the first nine months of 2021, businesses publicly reported 1,291 data breaches. These breaches shouldn’t happen but, unfortunately, they’re becoming more frequent. In a coworking space, it’s easier for data breaches to occur as there are so many people on the same network. There are also a lot of opportunities for hackers to steal or even delete vital customer information, such as when a worker goes on their lunch break. As a general rule, you should back up all your customer data at least three times so that it can never be lost. One lot should be on a local machine, one on the cloud, and one offline. Another type of backup to consider is website archiving. This process involves capturing and archiving all your website data. This can be useful in the event of a regulatory investigation or customer complaint.

Connect to the cloud

A recent study found that 91% of businesses use a public cloud, while 72% preferred a private one. However, not all workers make use of the cloud when they’re in a coworking space. This may be because it has a slight lag when it is accessed from remote locations or because it’s easier not to use it if, for example, they have multiple logins to remember for cloud-based apps. However, for customer security purposes, it’s essential that all work done in a coworking space is done via the cloud. All data is encrypted via the cloud which is one of its biggest advantages. Another positive is that customer data can’t be lost. If malware attacks your local network or a worker’s laptop is stolen from their coworking space, all customer files can be located from the cloud.

Coworking spaces have allowed many businesses to carry on trading with reduced expenses. But they do carry a risk to your customers’ personal data, which is why you should take measures to protect it.