By Mr. Filip Cotfas, Channel Manager, CoSoSys
In today’s internet economy, businesses collect a vast amount of data, and data is becoming both a more valuable and a more vulnerable resource. It has become critical to business growth, differentiation, and competitiveness. With the increasing importance of data, information security is becoming an increasingly important aspect for organizations, too, as the risk of a data breach – whether accidental or not – rises at an alarming rate.
Protecting sensitive data is required not only for moral or legal reasons but also to maintain privacy and the company’s image. Preventive controls must include policies for safeguarding it and infringement mitigation tools and techniques. Businesses must protect sensitive data to avoid loss or theft, as several security breaches have made headlines in recent weeks.
Let’s look at some of the practices that enterprises can use to start preparing for a security breach:
Security Awareness Training for Employees:
Employees are critical to ensuring the security of their organization’s security. They can be the weakest link in the data security chain, presenting a significant risk. With the rise of cloud storage tools, IoT devices, and BYOD trends, compromising sensitive information is now easier than ever. Effective data breach prevention requires practical training. It ensures employees understand the importance of data security, can detect threats and prevent leaks, and has the authority to report potential privacy violations.
To improve cyber security, access to sensitive information should be restricted to those with a “need to know” basis. Real-life examples of reviewable incidents should be included in staff training. They must be aware of their responsibilities and personal responsibility when using a computer on a business network. Organizations should update their security policies regularly.
Conduct vulnerability assessments regularly:
Vulnerability assessment identifies, categorizes, and prioritizes security threats to determine the risks they pose to organizations. Businesses should consider all aspects of vulnerability assessment, such as data storage, remote access for employees, BYOD strategy, and ensuring adequate policies and procedures. Regular security audits provide a clear picture of data and serve as a checklist for data protection.
Create a plan for dealing with data breaches.
Even though many businesses have yet to develop a breach response plan, such a framework is essential for dealing with cybersecurity incidents, limiting damages, and rebuilding public and employee trust. The first main goal is to define who will manage a breach and their roles and responsibilities. A draught notification and a summary of the investigation process are also required.
As technology advances, it also makes businesses more vulnerable to cybercrime. Every organization should prioritize cyber security to avoid being added to the ever-growing list of breach victims.
Invest in the right cybersecurity software:
Irrespective of the industry, cybersecurity measures are a must. Firewalls, intrusion detection systems, and antivirus systems are essential perimeter and network security measures. On the other hand, businesses should take a multi-tiered approach that includes security threat protection, identifying and monitoring security risks, and responding to safety threats and incidents. Minimizing network vulnerabilities by using encryption standards and a backup policy and regularly updating and patching software is critical.
Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions can aid in the protection of data both in transit and at rest. DLP solutions can help businesses prevent data breaches by implementing security policies and preventing unauthorized data access. It can also prevent end users from sharing or transferring confidential information.
As digital security issues threaten businesses of all sizes, deploying such a solution is now a requirement for large corporations and small and medium-sized enterprises.
