Empowering achievement: Why security is key to awards program success

This article was written by Dan Whitty, Senior Information Security Analyst at Award Force. 

Implementing security best practices for your awards program is essential not only for securing data but also for supporting individuals in reaching their full potential. At Award Force, we understand that security is a must-have as part of the recognition process. And there is no better time to talk about security than during Cybersecurity Awareness Month.

To fully appreciate the role of security, it helps to consider Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This widely recognised theory from the paper “A Theory of Human Motivation” outlines a pyramid of human needs, starting from basic survival and progressing to the highest level: self-actualisation, where people achieve their fullest potential.

At its core, the theory emphasises that in order for anyone to truly reach their highest sense of achievement or accomplishment, they must first have a foundation of safety and security. Without this sense of safety, progress toward higher goals, such as recognition and personal growth, becomes difficult.

While awards and recognition are fundamentally about achievement, it’s the layer of security that ensures participants feel safe and confident throughout the process. If safety is compromised, the sense of accomplishment can be diminished, and trust in the program can be lost. That’s why maintaining a secure environment for your awards program is non-negotiable.

Best security practices for awards programs

Awards programs deal with a wide range of information, from personal data to confidential project proposals. Ensuring an awards program is secure can help protect this information and ultimately help ensure the needs and safety are met.

Here are some best practices to implement to safeguard your program and data.

Encryption

Ensure all data both in transit and at rest is encrypted. At Award Force, we have implemented technical measures that protect data at rest using AES-256 bit encryption and in transit using a minimum of TLS 1.3 with secure ciphers.

Field level encryption

Beyond entire database encryption, it’s also important to mark sensitive fields that will be encrypted BEFORE being stored. We’ve developed field level encryption for Award Force to mark specific input fields that may be used to process personal data (using elevated protection) or sensitive personal data (using maximum protection) with additional measures.

Strong but memorable passwords

Users who access the system (irrespective of their role) should also maintain good password hygiene, and set a strong but memorable password. Award Force requires all passwords to be at least 12 characters, including a number, an upper-case and a lower-case letter and a special character.

Pro tip: Combine 3 random words to make a memorable but secure password.

Multi-factor authentication

Implementing an additional layer of authentication to a strong password helps further mitigate the risk of account compromise. Award Force supports MFA in user options and a management role to enforce multi-factor authentication for all users in the program.

Role-based access

Assignment of roles helps ensure only authorised users have access to data. By implementing role based access, you limit the ability for what data can be read or altered. It’s also good practice to limit the number of users who have administrative access to alter or change a program. At Award Force, we’ve developed industry standard roles, but you can also customise your own roles with permissions to suit your granular program needs.

Training and awareness

Educating staff and users of the platform helps ensure the best practices are maintained and the appropriate handling of information when they access it. The Award Force client success team helps onboard and train personnel to ensure a safe culture is built in parallel with the program kick-off.

Safe, secure and self-actualised

Implementing security and data protection best practices into your awards program and across your organisation will build the foundation of a sound and successful program where your participants feel safe and secure, and help them on their journey to self-actualisation and the ensuing recognition.

Learn more about security at Award Force.