Drive Your Fleet Forward | Wilmar, Inc.

Checklist: Is Your Fleet Management Co. Is Managing Your Data Securely?

Written by Wilmar, Inc. | 8/25/22 2:19 PM

Technology is becoming ever more important to business operations, and IT professionals are at the forefront of this shift. While many companies are looking for ways to streamline their operations and save time, they also want to ensure that they're doing so securely. 

That's where fleet management comes into play: It's a vital part of any modern business that helps you keep tabs on everything from drivers' hours and vehicle maintenance records to fuel consumption and mileage logs.

But the data collected by fleet management software can be compromised if not properly protected or monitored—and that's why it's so important for your company to choose an appropriate provider who will not only provide quality service but also protect sensitive information from being accessed by unauthorized users in accordance with all relevant laws governing data privacy laws.

Macro Policies

It is crucial that you have a policy in place for all of your data, including:

  • Data encryption

  • Data retention

  • Data disposal (e.g., shredding or disposing of hard drives)

  • Sharing of information with other companies or individuals (e.g., subcontractors)

These policies should also include the following:

Employee and IT Team Training

Employee and IT team training should include:

  • Data security, privacy and ownership

  • Data management including retention, destruction or destruction requirements. You may want to consider a process for permanent disposal of any information that you have collected from your employees or contractor's. This could include electronic data storage or physical destruction of hard copy documents (e.g., CDs). When it comes time for those decisions on how best to dispose of this sensitive information, be sure they are made in accordance with the law so you don't run afoul with any regulations regarding privacy issues related specifically because many countries use different laws than we do here in America."

Partner and Vendor Agreements

  • The terms of your data agreement should be defined in writing and signed by both parties.

  • The penalties for breaking the terms of your contract should be spelled out, as well as how they will be enforced. For example: If a customer's account is breached due to a breach at your company, what are you going to do about it? Will you charge them more money or do another type of penalty that isn't just money?

General Safety and Protection

General Safety and Protection

  • Physical Security: The physical security of your fleet management system is an important part of ensuring that it's safe to use. Make sure that all systems are locked down, and that any sensitive data is stored in a secure location.

  • Data Security: You should have strict policies regarding the handling of data, whether it be from employees or customers who will be using your services. This includes rules about how long you keep records for, who can access them and what kind of protection you implement on them (e.g., encryption). You should also ensure that only authorized users have access to sensitive information—and if there are any gaps in this process, let us know immediately so we can help rectify them!

Physical Infrastructure

Your physical infrastructure is the building, computers, network and other hardware that make up your fleet management company. It's important to maintain your physical infrastructure because it represents a large portion of your company's data security risk. The more vulnerable this equipment is to attack, the greater chance there is for someone to gain unauthorized access and cause damage or loss of data.

A good way to reduce these risks is by regularly testing all systems for vulnerabilities as well as maintaining them through regular updates and upgrades (for example: patches). In addition, it's also essential that you monitor this equipment regularly so that any problems are identified quickly before they cause significant damage (or worse).

Disaster Mitigation

  • Disaster mitigation is an essential component of any disaster recovery plan and should be a high priority when you're developing one.

  • The first step in disaster mitigation is to test your backup procedures and ensure they work properly. You should also test your recovery strategies periodically, especially if they are complex or involve multiple parties working together.

  • In general, the more people who are involved in planning for a potential disaster scenario (for example, if there's an employee who isn't aware of what type of data needs to be backed up), the better off you'll be when it comes time for them all-out chaos strikes!

Conclusion

The bottom line is that your fleet management company needs to have a standard operating procedure in place to ensure they are handling data securely. This checklist can help you ensure that your data is safe from hackers, as well as prevent bad actors from gaining access to it either accidentally or deliberately.

It's also important for companies like these to be able to identify risks before they become too big problems—that way when something does happen, there will already be steps taken beforehand! if you are yet to identify a reliable fleet management company, contact us today to get started.