In today’s fast-paced digital realm, the emergence of cutting-edge technologies has revamped the business world. However, with continuous technological advancements, cybercrimes and data breaches have also become more sophisticated.
Every other day, security breaches and cyber threats to high-profile organizations across the globe hit the headlines. And during the past few years, cybercrimes such as social engineering, phishing, and advanced persistent threats have been ascendant. These cyberattacks accentuate data vulnerability and reveal how organizations of all sizes and types lack a proper security architecture.
Not to mention how security threats can cause catastrophic damage to organizations. Significant decrease in revenues, tainted reputation, and loss of customers are some of the few repercussions businesses face.
Regardless of the industry, data is always an invaluable asset for organizations. And in this modern world, overlooking data privacy is much like a sailor shutting his eyes to the rising sea levels. Therefore, it’s indispensable for organizations to appraise available options and make viable choices about web security testing after considering the business nature and the data sensitivity.
Just adding one more security system isn’t the solution to the problem. Instead, IT professionals and security experts should work collaboratively to analyze the threats and enhance the protection systems.
Therefore, if you don’t want your business to fall prey to a myriad of security threats out there, here’s the handy guide. The article offers some of the ways to navigate the privacy challenges and safeguard your business:
How to Deal with the Increasing Security and Privacy Issues
- Leverage data discovery and classification tools
If you are unaware of the nature of your data and where it resides, chances are you might fail to protect it. And this, in turn, increases your organization’s data susceptibility to attacks. Therefore, to provide complete data security, capitalize on data discovery and classification (DDC) solutions. Data discovery refers to the process of determining where your data (structured or unstructured) lives within the basic infrastructure, file systems, siloes, and databases. When you figure out the data repositories, you can avoid storing confidential data in unsafe locations.
However, data classification is one step further and is a bit more complex. It involves the management of data – which data to purge, which to shield, and from whom. That way, you can place tags on sensitive data and protect them according to their value.
- Preclude insider threats
You might be aware of and also monitor threats originating from outside of your company. But have you ever thought that security threats might also emerge within your organization? Insider threats can cause serious disaster to your organization if not handled carefully.
One of the easiest methods for hackers to attempt data breaches is getting access to the company’s sensitive data through employees. For instance, a disgruntled employee may deliberately share confidential data. Or there is a high possibility that a lack of data security knowledge may cause an employee to click on a phishing email.
Thus, it’s indispensable for organizations to create a culture of training among employees, educate them about the latest security threats, and cope with them.
- Create hard-to-identify passwords
Cybercriminals can gain access to your company’s confidential data through your log-in credentials. So pay attention to your password. A weak password is easy to crack for hackers. Therefore, creating a strong password that is easy for you to remember yet difficult for hackers to guess is the key to protection.
A strong password should be long enough– it must have around 12 characters. And it should comprise a combination of uppercase and lower case letters, symbols, and numbers. However, avoid using your personal information in your password.
It is also advisable to change your password frequently, approximately about 90 days or so. In addition, don’t use the same password for your other accounts to avoid multiple cyberattacks.
- Ensure data encryption
Whether you surf the internet, write an email, or even chat, everything is encrypted today. But, what is encryption, and how does it protect your data privacy? Encryption refers to a security process of converting data from readable to unreadable format. In this manner, unauthorized parties or criminals can’t gain access to your sensitive information.
A decryption key is necessary to read or access the original message. Cybercriminals would need to hack the encryption algorithm to identify the decryption key and gain access to the data, which is incredibly challenging.
You can implement the data encryption method in two ways – symmetric or asymmetric. Symmetric encryption uses one encryption key for encryption and decryption of data. However, asymmetric uses one public key for encryption and the other private key for decryption.
- Conduct frequent audits
To keep your critical data protected at all times, you need to keep a close eye on suspicious activities. For this reason, frequent audits are a must for every organization. In addition, you can employ data auditing software solutions to investigate breach activities.
A security audit can help you identify the gaps or vulnerabilities that you may otherwise not be able to find in your security process. Furthermore, closely auditing can give you a clear picture of who can access, change, and even delete data.
Also, you can monitor the file path of data used after business hours. That way, you can learn any malicious activity and take necessary measures to prevent your company from any upcoming data breach.
- Create backup and data recovery systems
None of the organizations wish to put their business at stake by losing confidential data. However, a simple step – data backup and recovery, can make a significant difference. It allows you to securely access data when an unfortunate event occurs. For example, there might be a system failure, data breach activity, or you may lose data because of an accident or disaster.
No matter what the scenario is, data backup and recovery can come in handy at times like these. You can save your company from severe financial loss with the help of this data security strategy. Use a cloud-based storage system or any other physical device to store your data.
Also, ensure to regularly back up your stored data and keep it in a location far away from your present company location.
Final Words
Data breaches and cyber security are a matter of growing concern in today’s fast-paced digital horizon. With an enormous amount of confidential data just a click away, organizations should always remain vigilant about security risks. Because without a proper security strategy in place, organizations may fall victim to security threats and might have to pay hefty penalties.
It is relevant to note that data security isn’t merely a one-off measure. Nor does there exist any magic wand that can completely secure your data all day and night. Instead, organizations should consider it as an ongoing endeavor.
A multipronged approach encompassing various policies, methods, and security measures can help prevent, if not eliminate, data breaches. That way, organizations will be in a better position than being oblivious to the ever-increasing security threats.
