The top priority of any business is its data security.

92% of Americans are concerned about the security of their private information online.

This concern becomes even more critical when working with a remote team.

After all, you trust your virtual assistant with your most sensitive information, such as passwords and bank details. Therefore, choosing a virtual support agency that prioritizes their clients’ data security needs is crucial.

At Wishup, we understand these concerns. This blog discusses the measures we take to protect your confidential information and gives you some tips and suggestions you can make on your part to ensure your data is protected.

Working with a virtual assistant

The role of a virtual assistant is similar to that of a regular executive assistant working in an office. They often assist with both professional and personal tasks in administration, customer service, accounting and marketing. The only difference is that a virtual assistant works remotely from their home office or co-working space.

Of course, in order to simplify the operation, you must provide your virtual assistant with some personal data that will be part of his daily work. Depending on the nature of your business and the type of work you wish to delegate to your remote assistant, these details may include:

• email addresses and passwords,
• phone numbers,
• Bank details,
• house addresses,
• All other important financial details.

Because of the sensitive nature of this information, people might hesitate to work with a virtual assistant. Therefore, it is important to research and learn about the measures taken by a company before working with them.

At Wishup, we value your privacy and will do everything we can to ensure the security of your information. So let’s discuss why you can trust Wishup with your personal information.

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How Wishup protects our customers’ data

Pre-vetted virtual assistants

The benefit of working with an agency rather than directly with a freelancer is that the agency takes care of the hiring process.

At Wishup, we have an intensive hiring process where only the top 1% of applicants are hired. We take care of several hiring parameters, including aptitude tests, interviews and qualifications. Background checks are also an essential part of our hiring process. We review our applicants’ work histories and compare them to references to avoid red flags.

So when you work with our virtual assistants, you’re guaranteed to be working with the most professional, loyal, and dedicated talent in the industry.

Confidentiality Agreement

Whether you hire virtual assistant services for professional or personal reasons, the company you choose must establish NDA rules.

At Wishup, we ensure that a non-disclosure agreement is reviewed by you and signed by your virtual assistant before beginning your professional relationship.

The contract addresses the security and confidentiality of any corporate or personal data such as research, experimental work, development, design details and specifications, engineering, financial information, purchasing, customer lists, investors, employees, business and contractual relationships, business forecasts, sales and merchandising, or marketing plans .

This is a legal document and any violation of it will result in termination of the employment contract and legal consequences.

The same NDA rules apply if your primary virtual assistant is unavailable and you work with a backup.

Continuous customer care

Working with an independent contractor or freelancer may be cheaper than hiring an assistant through an agency. However, it is important to prioritize quality of service over price when it comes to keeping your data safe. Virtual assistants are already a cheaper choice than internal assistants. Therefore, it is important to choose an agency that offers quality service instead of opting for freelancer services to save on costs.

In a virtual aid organization, a third party is involved. Therefore, it makes the virtual assistants more responsible since it is a legal, official contract. There is also a customer success manager who oversees the project throughout its duration. You can always contact them with any concerns or questions about data security.

With these measures we ensure the security of your data when you work with Wishup’s virtual assistants. The digital world is constantly evolving and growing, and we will evolve and keep up with the latest security measures to offer our customers the best experience.

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What can you do from your side to ensure security?

While we at Wishup take the utmost measures to ensure your data security, here are some additional steps you can take to further protect your data, whether at Wishup or another remote worker.

Use secure internet connections.

The advantage of remote work is that people can work from anywhere. But even remote workers won’t always be able to work from home. Sometimes they might travel or just want to work in a coffee shop.

Using an unprotected Wi-Fi network is the most common way to put your organization at risk of an information security breach. Therefore, it is crucial to train your remote teams to protect corporate data wherever they work.

The simplest approach is to encourage employees to access a virtual private network (VPN) when working from an unfamiliar location. Before connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, remote workers should use VPNs to encrypt their internet data and scan it for signs of infection.

Note that not all VPNs are created equal. Make sure the VPN you use meets all the requirements you need to meet, not just last-mile encryption, to ensure your business implements the appropriate VPN.

Passwords are important

A Google study found that 13 percent of people tend to reuse the same password across all their accounts, and 52 percent of people use the same one across multiple of their accounts.

If you’re a person who uses the same password for all of your accounts, you might want to consider better security. It’s a good idea to create new, unique passwords for any accounts you plan to share with your virtual assistant or other remote workers.

Providing instructions on password security can be another step in delivering cybersecurity training to your remote workers. Starting with the basics of password security and the importance of never repeating the same password in different accounts.

Employers and employees can reduce this risk by using password managers that can generate random passwords and store them all securely. As a result, employees don’t have to struggle to remember their passwords across different systems and accounts on a daily basis.

Multi-Factor Authentication

With MFA, anyone trying to access your accounts must provide a variety of different types of information in order to be authenticated. Security questions, personal identification numbers, push notifications, and biometrics are classic MFA features. Two-factor authentication is the most popular type of MFA and is a simple solution to keep remote work secure.

This makes sense when working with smaller remote teams or virtual assistants. With this approach, you will be notified when someone logs into your accounts.

Go for secure cloud and CRM tools

Today, it’s easy and affordable for small and medium-sized businesses to access the best technology. In the past, this was only reserved for large industry giants. In addition, several technological innovations in recent years have developed many service platforms that provide small businesses with low-cost, easy-to-use business solutions.

Businesses should use a comprehensive Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application to manage important customer data. G-Suite, Dropbox, and Slack are reliable tools to help you stay connected with your remote team.

To ensure maximum security, we encourage our customers to communicate with their virtual assistants using secure encrypted communication channels such as WhatsApp or Slack.

Monitor remote employees

While fewer distractions and employee autonomy are some of the benefits of remote work, cloud-based applications can make monitoring easy and unobtrusive.

Time Doctor can take screenshots of remote workers’ laptops while also tracking their hours, the projects they’re working on, and when. As a result, business owners get a better understanding of what employees are doing, who can also keep accountability and ensure everyone is following remote access security best practices.

However, before using virtual surveillance tools, it is important to check local legislation.

Even if you’re legally clear, it’s a good idea to be honest with your employees about any surveillance. When your remote workers know they’re being monitored, they can be more productive. It will also stop them from visiting websites that could put your data at risk from malware and hackers.

Grow your business with our team of dedicated virtual assistants

Concern about your data security when working with a remote team is natural and essential. However, here at Wishup we take all necessary measures to ensure that you do not have to worry about the security of your personal information.

To learn more about our virtual assistants and how we take care of your privacy, schedule a free consultation today. You can also send us an email to [email protected] For more information.