Contrary to popular belief, most security leaks aren’t caused by problems with technology. Most security problems are caused by people.
I have shared my credit card and financial information with my trusted VAs. I’ve never had a problem with them leaking or stealing my information because it’s not about the technology, it’s about the people.
The good thing about Filipinos is that they don’t want to steal your information. There’s no real incentive to do so. Any benefit they get from stealing is nothing compared to the punishment and repercussions they’ll get from it.
Regardless, I still implemented common-sense security practices because it’s important.
Don’t worry if you’re not a super technical person. A lot of the things you need to do to keep your business secure are low-tech solutions like:
1. Establishing trust.
What does trust have to do with data security? A lot.
When your VA trusts you, they will take care of you. They will value your business because they value your trust.
They’ll be super careful with your business information. They’ll protect it like you do.
If they don’t trust you, they won’t care.
This doesn’t mean they’ll share your important info (they probably still won’t), but they’ll be less careful.
2. Be thoughtful about what you share and who you share your data with.
Joven is my project manager and the one who has access to most of the sensitive information we have in our business. He has that access because we trust him, because he needs it, and he’s proven to be trustworthy.
That said, not everyone has the same access as Joven, even though there are people in my Philippine team who have worked with us for just as long.
Their access to information is determined by the work that they do and by how trustworthy they are.
We don’t give access to everything from day 1. But…when someone has earned my trust, I give them access to anything they need to do their job and make my life easier.
3. Educate your VA on the importance of data security.
Most people don’t leak information out of malice; sometimes, they just don’t know.
This is why scammers often target the elderly. Most of them don’t know that you shouldn’t be sharing sensitive personal information on social media or with strangers on the phone.
Fortunately, most Filipinos are even more concerned with data security than their American counterparts are. Filipinos are very concerned with scams.
In the same way that people become more vigilant once they know about scams and how to avoid them, teaching your VA why it’s important to practice data security and making it part of their job will make them more vigilant.
If you’re in the medical or health insurance industry, hiring a VA with HIPAA certification or who is HIPAA compliant is one way of ensuring you’re getting someone who knows the importance of data security and privacy.
4. Use password management systems
Sharing passwords without sharing the actual password is super easy with a password management system like LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden, Apple Passwords, Dashlane…
They help keep your passwords secure and save you the hassle of remembering them all.
When I need to give access to one of my VAs, I share the login details with them through LastPass. This lets them access the account without seeing or being able to copy my username and/or password. Lastpass won’t let them see the password, but it will auto fill it on the websites they need to use. They’ll keep having access unless I revoke it or change the password.
5. Study the security settings of all your accounts before giving your VA access.
I know I promised non-technical solutions, but taking the time to look through the settings of your email, social media, or any account you have online will help you a lot.
You’ll find more of them in the settings. Once you find them, you’ll see that most security features are really easy to access, understand, and implement.
You’ll see that many sites even have the option of giving select team members limited access to do their jobs.
One example is Gmail’s email delegation. Email delegation is the option to give your VA access to your email without giving them your username and password. Email delegation allows your VA to sort, respond, and archive emails for you without changing your settings.
If you use Google Workspace (Docs, Sheets, Slides), you can give your VAs different levels of permissions (view only, comment, edit), and you can even set these permissions to expire if you want.
It’s the same thing with most social media. You can grant their account limited access to your account so you don’t have to give them access to your actual account.
What about an NDA (non-disclosure agreement)?
Filipinos respect contracts, so having your VA sign an NDA is a good idea.
An NDA has power and authority when your VA understands its importance. That power is reinforced when you make data security part of your business decisions.
Once you practice these common-sense habits, it becomes easier to imagine outsourcing more tasks to your VA because you don’t have to worry about data security anymore.
That’s why you’ll see so many Filipino:
– accountants,
– bookkeepers,
– financial analysts,
– lawyers,
– legal assistants,
– nurses,
– medical VAs,
– dental VAs,
– insurance VAs,
– etc, etc, etc.
They value your security. They value your business. They can be trusted with your business and information.
John