Data is the foundation for every business’s success, and business owners must realize the importance of keeping their data safe and secure against intruders. Data breaches can pose serious security concerns while sensitive data is being transmitted across the Internet, making it vulnerable to attacks from hackers. Most businesses are struggling to manage the growing number of cybersecurity issues with increased hacked data from IoT and mobile devices becoming increasingly common.
Companies need to use secure data encryption methods, including using SSL certificates, employing the best security practices, and creating awareness among their employees to make cybersecurity a part of their culture.
The growing importance of data protection for organizations
According to reports by Statista, the number of data breaches in the US increased from $157 million in 2015 to 1.47 billion in 2019. The number of records that were exposed rose from 67 million to 164.7 million throughout this similar period. Thus, data protection must be a core of every organization’s business strategy, and it’s a must for every company, especially with an increasing number of cyberattacks in organizations.
Regardless of the size of your business, every company must ensure its customer data and business information are safe against hackers. Most cyber attackers use sophisticated means by trespassing security measures, making it even more crucial for companies to strengthen their security policies and practices. Websites, laptops, hardware, and networks, along with peripheral equipment, are some of the vulnerable areas.
It’s recommended to provide extra layers of security to prevent any unauthorized access to your website and core systems to bolster safety and prevent cybercrimes within organizations. Also, data breaches can result in financial loss, damage to a business’s reputation, negative impact on profits along legal and regulatory consequences.
Practical strategies that you can use to ensure data protection
Use proper data encryption mechanisms.
One of the best advantages of using modern technology for encryption is that it can be used across most of your devices. Thus, encryption uses algorithms to scramble the information into an unreadable format. Most of the data encryption solutions use these algorithms to protect sensitive information, which may be combined alongside management tools to deploy data encryption across organizations.
Thus, encryption ensures that keys and passwords required for accessing data are available to authorized users. Firewalls, data intrusion systems, and access control applications are some of the traditional security measures that prevent data breaches within the organization. However, using encryption standards such as SSL certificates can enhance data privacy and security for your website while providing authenticity to the users.
Have reliable data backups
The increase in ransomware attacks and data breaches has created a greater necessity for data security. It’s just not large enterprises are victims of such attacks, in fact, even SMEs may be targeted by hackers. Data loss can be prevented by having data backup procedures in place and providing additional security for your business to manage any unforeseen situations arising in your industry. It is necessary that your data
backup plan also comprises a disaster recovery plan to help restore failed devices.
The 3-2-1 rule is suggested for getting backups i.e., keep three copies of your data in two different mediums and store the other one off-site.
Use the cloud for data storage.
There are plenty of benefits of using cloud storage for your devices. Choosing the right cloud security provider may be crucial for reaping the benefits of enhanced data security and protection. Businesses and enterprises need to use cloud services as they tend to be more cost-effective and provide flexible options compared to expensive hardware.
Data protection solutions for cloud storage provide greater visibility and control over how data may be moved to and from the cloud, thus preventing access to sensitive information to unauthorized users.
Create a robust data protection mechanism
Hackers and scammers tend to use brute force attacks by targeting your network or operating systems. Sometimes, they use malware using legitimate emails and links to steal information from your system or across devices. The use of DNS filtering can help effectively block malicious content and websites and strengthen your cyber security. Furthermore, it may be necessary to install firewalls to get an extra layer of protection and security to block malicious programs from accessing your data. It is also recommended to have anti-malware and anti-virus software, which are updated with periodic scans for the protection of your systems. Use two-factor authentication for all your devices to ensure that your data always remains safe and protected.
Creating awareness among employees
Employees who are not educated on data protection may pose another risk as they may unknowingly share vital and sensitive company information with others. Hence, they need to be trained and educated about the best security practices to be followed in the company. They must be taught not to trust unknown sources requesting information and verify links that look suspicious so that company data is safe and is not misused by hackers.
They must be trained to sign off their accounts or log off to prevent unauthorized access to funds or passwords. Train your employees to use mobile devices safely and securely by having passcodes and a backup of mobile data. Make sure they have knowledge about using privacy settings on phones and use anti-virus and anti-malware across their devices.
Conclusion
Data sharing offers plenty of benefits, but they have risks, especially when unauthorized users access information. Company data may comprise confidential customer or transaction information, which can lead to the company’s loss of trust and credibility. Data protection is a necessary tool for every enterprise to ensure data privacy and enhance trust and confidence among your consumers about your brand. Thus, companies must have concrete data protection policies and practices to ensure that their data is not compromised at any cost by hackers.
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Also read: Healthcare and Cybersecurity: Statistics, Facts, and Trends
