How to Ensure Data Security When Working with Offshore Data Entry Services

Outsourcing data entry services to offshore providers has become a trend in the upcoming digital world. For companies looking to cut costs and improve efficiency, outsourcing is one of the most profitable options for any business. However, there are many challenges and concerns while outsourcing data entry services offshore. But, there are ways to assure the security and reliability of such service providers by checking on some of the most important aspects before handing over the work.

In this blog, we are covering the things to ensure your business data is secure with offshore business partner companies. You can make sure the checklist is ticked before outsourcing your data entry work to an offshore team.

Choose A Reputable Service Provider

As a business owner, it is important to keep your business data in safe hands and thus, it is the basic and most essential step for outsourcing to offshore service providers. A trustworthy and experienced data entry partner can keep your data secure and assure the data integrity as per industry regulations. It’s important to choose your service provider with high client satisfaction ratio and it is best if the offshore company is recommended by someone you know.

Solutions:

• You can check for previous work history or reach their current clients to know the experience of working with the service provider.
  
  
• Take a look at the certifications achieved by the company such as ISO 27001, you can also ask for skills and expertise of the team.
  
  
• Always read the clients reviews on websites like google business profile, Glassdoor or other trusted websites before outsourcing offshore data entry services.
  
  
• Do not forget to check their data security policies and also ask for the tools and software available to protect the data from theft or fraud.

Practice Secure File Transfer Processes

The key element of offshore data entry services is to transfer the data between your company and data entry providers. It can be a possible threat to cyber security and the data may be exposed for cyber attack if shared without any protection. Hence, it is important to practice sharing the data or files using a secure and reliable channel that is agreed by both the companies.

Solutions:

• It is advisable to always use a secure channel for file transfer to prevent data thefts and cyber attacks during transmission.
  
  
• You can ensure that only authorized personnel have access to files during the transfer process as it will reduce the risk of unauthorized access.
  
  
• Utilize the best tools to monitor file transfer processes in real time and to detect any suspicious behavior within the process.

Perform Security Audits On a Regular Basis

One of the best ways to ensure data security is to perform security audits frequently in the company. Audits can make sure of security protocols are in place, it will detect any potential threats. Also, you can be assured that you are in compliance with data protection regulations.

Solutions:

• Perform internal and external audits on regular intervals to ensure the data is protected and the systems are well-equipped.
  
  
• Third-party audits are also necessary if you are dealing with any third-party vendors for your offshore processes. It will ensure that the whole process is secure.
  
  
• You can hire a team of experts to review your audits as the external auditors will not have any bias or will be keen on details.

Signing A Data Protection Agreement

It should be mandatory to sign a data protection agreement for those who are working with offshore data entry services. You can include all the security requirements and obligations in the agreement. Also, mention the possibility of penalties and charges if the data is compromised.

Solutions:

• You need to strictly define data protection guidelines in the agreement and what are the possible outcomes if the agreement is breached.
  
  
• As a business owner, you must keep in mind the needs of your customers and how sensitive their data is that needs protection from misuse. 
  
  
• Notification of an incident must be immediately reported to your company by the service provider in case of a data breach or security incident.
  
  
• Please check if the company is in compliance with global data protection regulations depending on the type of data.

Training For Data Security Best Practices

As per international standards, every employee in the company must complete the mandatory training for data security and data protection best practices. As you are working with an offshore data entry team, you need to ensure that the team is aware about data protection guidelines as a front line operator. You can arrange specific training for data security and data integrity best practices before starting the handover of your work to the offshore team.

Solutions:

• It is important and essential to educate your offshore team on how to deal with possible cyber attacks or phishing attempts by frauds.
  
  
• All the systems at offshore data entry providers must be secured with strong passwords and it needs to be shared with the admin team to ensure compliance of regulations.
  
  
• Strict controls on device usage, internet access, and data storage must be implemented to ensure that the team is working in a safe and secure environment.

Monitoring & Review Of Security Threats 

In the digital world, cyber attacks are evolving with the changing technology. It is essential to monitor and upgrade your security systems with time. You must monitor your security systems and review them to detect any possible threats on data security. It is always important to optimize and upgrade your systems.

Solutions:

• You can check and suggest if your service provider is using security tools such as intrusion detection systems (IDS) and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to monitor suspicious activity. 
  
  
• In case you have an incident reported, there should be an SOP to follow in case of an incident as a responsive plan of action.
  
  
• Check the monitoring systems of your business partner. If they are having 24x7 monitoring solutions to quickly detect and address any potential data threats.