When a brand is considering an EDI provider (or any technology service provider, for that matter), they need to have data security at the top of their checklist. Specific to EDI, brands are trusting their provider with critical business information ranging from items and prices to customer details and should consider the following criteria…
Network and System Security
One of the best ways to determine a vendor’s network and system security is to understand how they test, specifically as it relates to penetration testing. Penetration testing is the process of hiring an outside partner to test an organization’s network security. Cybersecurity experts essentially do their best to hack or break into a system. Technology vendors, including EDI providers, should regularly undergo penetration tests so that they can make improvements to their networks and systems based on findings – and that’s exactly what we do here at eZCom Software.
Strength of Encryption
Temporary Layer Security (TLS) is a widely adopted security protocol that facilitates privacy and data security for communications over the internet. It is primarily used to encrypt communication between web applications like our award-winning EDI platform Lingo and the browsers our customers use to access it. Browsers use TLS to check a website or a web application’s TLS (or SSL) certificate, ultimately protecting web applications from data breaches and other attacks.
The TLS protocol is constantly changing and improving so it’s important that a brand’s technology vendors are up to date and making upgrades to the latest version.
Here at eZCom, we constantly monitor and stay up to date with key security protocols including TLS.
The Human Factor
For any brand, there is always the human factor to consider when partnering with a technology vendor that will handle sensitive data. It is important that brands verify that their technology partners train their employees in data and cybersecurity best practices.
All eZCom team members undergo data security training as a part of their onboarding process as well as regular refresher courses.
Two Factor Authentication (2FA)
Two factor authentication is a form of authentication that requires the user to provide a secondary piece of information in addition to a password in order to successfully login. This second piece of information is oftentimes provided via SMS or email to a known phone number or an authenticator application on a device separate from the one they are using to log in. This adds an added layer of data security.
Two factor authentication is a feature within Lingo that users can activate.
Data Protection
Data is the lifeblood of most businesses. Brands should find out how everyone one of the technology partners – including their EDI provider – safeguard it. Here at eZcom, we conduct encrypted, real-time data backups to ensure our customers’ data security and overall business continuity.
Your Privacy
It’s important that technology vendors have clear and strict documentation related to their data sharing policies. Do they share data internally? With external partners? Do they sell your data? These are all crucial questions that brands need to ask not just of their EDI vendor but all of their vendors.
At eZCom, we don’t share customer data with anyone.
Data Security Matters Now More Than Ever
We recommend brands do a complete audit of the data security practices and policies across all of their technology partners to minimize risk.
