How to Safely Manage Risks on a Construction Project: Top Tips for Contractors

Today, one of the most common problems is cybercrime, and this is no exception for the construction industry. First of all, it is necessary to protect yourself as much as possible from unwanted hacking and solve the issue of the risk of data leakage.

According to statistics, every year about 5,000 websites are hacked. About 550 million users of the social network Facebook have been hacked and their data published in the public domain. Let’s take a look at some top tips on how to avoid becoming a victim of a cyberattack. One of the most general hacks for today’s contractors is to try digital-friendly approaches like the implementation of BIM systems, CRMs, and construction estimating software.

Let’s take a closer look at other helpful recommendations for your risk-free management in construction. There are 7 of them to take into consideration. Mix them or focus only on several hacks for your corporate security and digital safety concerning management tasks.

Top 7 Recommendations for Safe Project Management in Construction

An effective way to improve your online security is to create good data encryption. This will keep information from prying eyes and make access to it impossible if a person does not have a key or a special code to enter. Construction estimating software will help determine the type of encryption for a particular type of information.

The most effective methods are symmetric and asymmetric data encryption. Their difference is in the number of encryption keys. You can also use a VPN or a virtual private network, the traffic of which does not go directly, but through “tunnels” while encrypting the traces. Additionally, there are other 7 recommendations for today’s contractors and their project managers.

#1 The Project Team Should Comply with Corporate Safety Rules

To do this, the manager must conduct training in the form of seminars, classes, and lectures, or invite a specialist for this who can provide the necessary education to keep the data and personal information of employees from the wrong hands.

#2 Use Complex Passwords and Double Authentication

A password that is difficult to crack should have more than 8 characters, uppercase, lowercase, lowercase, and uppercase numbers and letters. It is recommended to use a special tool called a password manager. With it, the employee will be able to generate a complex but strong password. Dual authentication keeps all information secure by using an additional code when trying to log in.

#3 Archive Your Data Correctly

Many companies have a large amount of data that contains information about their employees, workers, past or future construction sites, construction workflow, and so on. It is quite difficult to store such a large volume, so to save the information and protect it from getting to third parties, you can use a special tool – DMS.

With this security, the contractor or other authorized data manager can store all documents, use them and access them from any device. This makes saving information accessible and secure at the same time.

#4 Carefully Monitor Data Access Permissions

It is very important to monitor data access rights. Only a narrow circle of people who are related to the construction of a particular object can be authorized to appeal information – these can be employees, contractors, and other people who implement the project at every stage.

#5 Be Ready for Regular Backups

Thanks to these copies, you will be able to recreate all the data in case of loss or damage, regardless of the reason. This will greatly help in case of infection of computers with viruses, hacks, or other technical problems.

#6 Use Special-Purpose Security Software

Thanks to the use of special programs, all gadgets that employees use at work will be protected from any kind of intrusion by third parties. That is why special-purpose software for improved security is required for many reasons:

• Risk-free collaborations including data sharing, communication, and reporting;
• Encrypted letters to external shareholders with no risk for data;
• Almost excluded risks of data leaks and loss of critically important information.

Additionally, specific software for improved security allows contractors and managers to detect cyberattacks at their initial stage. That is why any crime can be prevented before force majeure situations.

#7 Access the Internet Exclusively Through Reliable Servers

Internet access must be through either a VPN or a secure/private network. This should be done by every employee on your project. Take into account this general recommendation that will be suitable not only for the construction sector and its players.

Almost all of today’s businesses and niches should switch from paper document flow to digital-friendly, automated, and paperless environments. Plus, reliable servers and VPNs can protect your data and cloud-based data-sharing algorithms through secure connections.