A Guide to Data Security

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Data Security 

Here’s a scary thought: every, single minute that passes, $2.9 million is lost to cybercriminals and data breaches. 

Imagine the impact that has on the entire global business environment and the economies that operate within it. The time is now to brush up on your knowledge of cybercrime and data security. 

IT and data security are crucial to the survival of any business nowadays, that includes everybody from small businesses to multi-million dollar companies. 

So, how do you protect your business and your data from cybercriminals? Keep reading to find out more. 

A Quick Look At Cybercrime 

Along with an online world, unfortunately, came a new type of criminal: the cybercriminal. No longer do thieves and extortionists and have to worry about fingerprints and points of entry, but rather, they focus on human error and weak software. 

Cybercrime is on the rise with hundreds of people and businesses falling victim every day. Did you know that in 2019 more than 60% of businesses were prey to social engineering and phishing attacks? 

What Is Data Security? 

Knowing the risk of cybercrime, and what information is at risk for your business forms the basis of what cybersecurity and data security are. 

What information do you need to protect? How do you keep data secure? What information is confidential to those outside your business? What information needs to be secured from employees? 

Data security is the actual process of keeping your business data protected and secure from both corrupted access and unauthorized access. 

In fact, data security focuses on keeping information safe and away from external and internal destructive forces. Not only can hackers and cybercriminals do damage with confidential information, but your business can also get in some serious trouble with privacy violations if you’re not careful. 

Why Is Data Security Important? 

To put it into perspective, on average, a data breach will cost around $3.9 million. 

To even further make things worse as a result of a data breach, a company is obligated to share the breach with their customers and database, further shedding a negative light on the business and the brand. 

Here are the three reasons why keeping your data safe is really important. 

  1. Your Reputation Is At Stake 

As any business or organization that is in charge of and trusted with confidential information, if you suffer a breach then the only person who looks bad, is you! 

Your business and brand reputation is seriously at risk if you don’t prioritize your data security. Even just a small breach in the system can cause repercussions that can be difficult for any business to recover from. 

  1. Threats Are Only Increasing 

Cybercrime is on the rise. It’s an undeniable fact. 

If you’re not taking data security seriously then guaranteed somebody out there will take notice of your lapse in judgement and target you directly as a result thereof. 

Threats are even more apparent because of the number of devices that we work from, particularly due to more remote working environments and the recent pandemic. The more devices you have or your employees have, the more places there are for hackers to find that important data. 

  1. It Will Cost You, Big Time 

Once you’ve fallen victim to a data breach we have news for you, it’s going to cost you! 

You may recover over time from the knock at your ‘ego’ but the financial implications can last a lifetime. Not only do you have to implement expensive measures to ensure that it doesn’t happen again, but, you may fall victim to lawsuits that can run into the millions. 

Whatever the ripples are as a result of the data breach, it will always be less expensive to invest in the precaution than the fix. 

Types Of Data Security Measures 

The measures your business takes in data security are not just up to your IT department or the guy in the archive room.

Data security sits with the lady in DevSecOps as much as the highest level executive on the board. 

The best thing you can do is ensure that everyone has a basic understanding of the measures it takes to prioritize your data security, here’s what they are:

  1. Authentication Technology

Authorization and authentication technology are used to verify user credentials against those that are in your database. This means that people cannot simply log in if your authentication tech is creating an obstacle. 

For example, you can have things like PINS, security tokens, passwords, or even biometrics that are all types of authentication. 

  1. Controlled Access

So many companies don’t restrict access to internal company information and data. Not all employees and staff need to have access to all data and information. 

Putting in measures that allow certain roles or levels of management to access certain documents or data is always a good idea. With controlled access, you can also usually see who has used or accessed documents so you have better control. 

  1. Data Encryption 

Basically, there’s a piece of software that uses an algorithm to make your data unreadable to those who access it without the ‘decryption key’.

Not only can data encryption protect data that is in storage but it can also aid in protecting data that is on the move or being sent between people and platforms. 

  1. Data Recovery And Data Backups 

Imagine someone managed to take all your company information away from you today. All your historical client data, all your account data, and even your current project plans. You’d be at a total loss as to what to do next. 

By having a data recovery and backup plan in place, at least if you do suffer a data breach, you can ensure the business continuation and not a complete operational standstill. 

Leave Here Lovin’ Data Security 

By now you should be head over heels in love with the idea of data security and how it can help your business! Forget the courting and go straight for marriage, your business will thank you for it. 

Set up appropriate data security measures, and most of all, ensure that your entire organization buys into the love as well. 

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