As most companies have at least part of their operations online these days, data security is a big concern. With hackers on the rise and more and more information being stored on online platforms, it is essential that all businesses understand and implement a data security plan. Read below to understand the key components of a robust data security strategy for businesses like yours.
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Doing a Risk Assessment
As an initial step as you begin building up your data protection, you should run a risk assessment on all of your online data. Initially, you should identify areas of risk like weak passwords, unprotected data sharing amongst coworkers, and data being uploaded into the cloud without added security. Once these areas are identified, it is time to categorize your business’s data into different categories like financial data, personal data, and client data.
As part of the risk assessment, you should also identify what kinds of threats your business could encounter like cyberattacks, human error, and even physical damage to hard drives. Making a list of potential threats can help your business be aware of what’s out there and help you build a plan around what could happen.
Implementing DSPM
DSPM stands for data security posture management and it entails implementing a system that constantly monitors your business’s online activity by automating the identification of suspicious activity. If your business is looking at ways of improving data security posture, then you should consider implementing a data security posture management system. This type of management system involves a mix of strategies and technologies that come together to monitor, analyze, and alert businesses of potential data security breaches.
This kind of management system not only tracks activity across your many business platforms, it also works to identify the most important documents to prioritize their safety. Once the most sensitive information is pinpointed, the system will classify it and basically put it in a digital safe. As for all of the other information that your business wants to keep safe from hackers, the system constantly monitors online activity so that abnormalities can be spotted right when they happen.
Enforcing Access Control
Access control is when a business allows a certain level of access to employees depending on their role in the company. When a person joins the team, they will be given an identification card or a passcode that they can use to enter the business establishment and log onto all of the necessary online portals. Other even stronger methods of access control include fingerprinting, face ID, and multi-factor identification to ensure that only those who are authorized can access certain data.
Along with the constant surveillance of the data security posture management system, this is an added layer of safety within a company to ensure that only certain eyes can see classified data. So access control can be allocated based on certain duties as well, meaning that employees who have lower status in the company can still work on collaborative tasks but will only see what they need to see and nothing else. Whereas people who are higher up in the company and most trusted can see all of the same things as lower employees as well as all of the classified data so that they can perform their specific tasks.
When it comes to passwords, your business should set up a system where employees must create passwords with several requirements like upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols so that everybody doesn’t use the same basic password. Like with most smartphones these days, these passwords should only be surpassed in exchange for a unique fingerprint or face identification. Even checking in to work each day should require a unique digital password or card swipe.
Training Employees
As a part of onboarding, your company should include training about data security so that each employee knows their role in keeping the company’s data safe. New employees should also be vetted to make sure that they have no history of cybercrime and are only joining the company to be productive members of the team. All employees should also be made aware when new data security measures are being implemented so that they can be trained accordingly. This will help to prevent any user error that could cause a data security breach.
Regularly Updating Apps and Software
With every new update digital tools like messaging apps and communication software used by businesses get more secure. The companies that run these platforms are constantly working to make them more secure because if your data gets stolen or hacked, then they could be liable. In the digital age that we live in now, everyone is worried about data security, especially those who run platforms that store most of the data that businesses generate.
Software and app developers are always working on patching up security vulnerabilities and releasing new updates, so make sure to download these updates as soon as they are released. This can be the difference between staying safe and having one hacker slip through the cracks and cause a security breach.
Regularly Backing Up Data
It is always a good idea to keep important data backed up in multiple locations in the unfortunate case that a cybersecurity attack happens and some or all of your important data is lost. Backing up your data onto an external hard drive once a day or once every few days ensures that you have a copy of all of your important information in a place that cannot be hacked.
You can set up automatic backups to the cloud as well so that you have everything saved in a place that can store virtually endless data. This is, of course, as long as you have a sound security plan for all of your cloud data as well.
Creating a robust data security strategy for your business is the best thing you can do as the world of business becomes increasingly digital. Stick to these key components to cover all of your bases and stay on track with your data security.