Data Security, If you’re working in human services because you hated Maths, then terms like “Data”, “Quantitative Analysis”, Pivot Table, Gantt Chart, might seem scary! Don’t be overawed! Data is not that complicated.
Data! Data! Data! You might have come across this word multiple times in a day, however, do you know what data and data security mean? Well, data is just a collection of information, including facts, figures, and observations converted into a form to assist organizational decision-making and develop strategies.
Data security is the practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifestyle.
Understand,
Doing Business without data is just like driving with your eyes closed!
Right data is the main basis of you can say the cynosure for taking business decisions. Let’s take the example of a Pandemic. The word “Pandemic” in itself is a word that can shake your soul! An insight into the recent covid cases, number of deaths, the spread of the disease, and the number of people who got vaccinated, was some important data that helped the entire world to cope up with this deadly virus.
In the absence of data and data security, it would be hard to evaluate the situation of the world facing the threat of this deadly virus.
Now, in the tech-savvy and digitized world, it’s pertinent to understand the importance of Data and Data Security!
Just like your heart is the center for blood circulation throughout the body, a database is the center of the flow of data. So, are you ready to learn the importance of data and data security?
Have a Look!
What is the Importance of Data?
- Data helps you take ideal decisions
- Data helps you tackle problems fuss-free
- Data helps you evaluate the performance
- Data helps you improve the processes
- Data helps you gain a better understanding of the customers
What is the importance of Data Security?
- Prevents data theft
- Preserves data integrity
- Protects your privacy
Data is the new currency of the digitized world, isn’t it? As technology continues to play a massive role in our lives, our dependence on data security software is also increasing like a raging fire. It is simply changing the way we live, the way we work. Amidst the rising importance of data, you often forget to turn your eyes towards the facts and figures of the cases of data breaches that happen every day.
Data breaches are far more than just a temporary error as they might change the course of your life. Be it businesses, government, or any individual, a data breach can create wreaking havoc in their lives. No matter you are online or offline, or how protective you are, or how much data security you have maintained, hackers can always find you even in the darkest corners.
Without proper detail or attention, even a small vulnerability can cause a massive data breach. Since many people are not aware of how modern security systems work, they don’t give data breaches enough attention.
In this blog, we’re going to explain what is a data breach and how no data security can take a negative toll on your life. As you’ll dive in, you’ll get all your questions solved:
- What is a data breach?
- How does Data Breach Happen?
- What is the impact of data breaches on individuals and businesses?
- What steps you can take to prevent data breaches and maintain data security?
Now, what is a data breach?
A data breach happens when data is accessed, modified, or deleted without your authorization. Any loopholes in the data security can lead to data breaches ranging from accidental to malicious, and keep in mind that the after-effects can be devastating!
Be it individuals, high-level enterprises, or small businesses, everyone can be at the risk of a data breach. It entirely means that if you’re not protected, you’re always hanging at the risk of the cyber-criminal. The world continues to come up with new technologies every day that in turn is giving birth to more and more places for data to slip through.
In the absence of comprehensive security at both the levels such as the user and the enterprise, you are almost guaranteed to be at the risk forefront.
Well, there is no silver bullet that guarantees 100% data security. However, there are several steps, tactics, and the best data security practices that’ll help you minimize the chances of data breach, loss, and exposure.
- Quarantine sensitive data the same way you quarantined yourself at the time of Covid-19
- Delete the data that’s not in use as storing stale data for a longer time proofs to be a liability in terms of data security
- Employ data security software that provides real-time monitoring and alerts of malicious activities
- Track user access and make sure that the data is accessed by the right people at the right time as it is one of the biggest dangers to data security.
For every business, be it big or small, not maintaining data security software can be a disaster. The loss of customer information and internal business data such as inventory lists, transaction details, and other pertinent information is the worst nightmare that no business wants to experience.
Far off the immediate financial impact of a fraudulent order or a bank transfer, breaking your customer’s trust can debilitate your company’s goodwill and reputation. Before preventing one, it’s essential to know the causes behind the data breach and how to maintain data security.
Here’s a shortlist of the major causes or you can say the malicious methods used for a data breach. Have a Look!
- Stolen and Weak Credentials i.e. Passwords
Weak passwords and no data security are the root cause of data breaches. In short, understand that,
Weak password + No Data Security = Data Breach
Hacking is the most common cause of data breach, however weak passwords top the list. A weak password and no data security software is a vulnerability that easily gets exploited by the opportunity hacker.
Simple Solution: Use complex passwords, never share them, and don’t forget to change them frequently.
- Backdoor Attack?
A Backdoor attack is a malicious attack that allows somebody i.e. hackers, governments, IT people, etc. to access your device remotely without your permission and knowledge. Hackers can install a backdoor on your device by taking the help of malware, exploiting your software vulnerabilities, or even by installing malware directly in the hardware of your system.
Simple Solution: Don’t forget to keep software updated as it’s the first step towards achieving the goal of data security.
- Malware
With the emerging digital trend, newer forms of malware are making an appearance every day. And, there is no means to put a halt to them! It’s not just a problem for your personal computers, it’s an ever-expanding threat aimed to put your company and business at great risk. As long as your data is available online, cybercrimes such as Ransomware, Trojan horses, adware, and other viruses will continue to pose a serious threat.
Simple Solution: Beware of opening the malicious website and the suspicious emails as they both are the birthplace or you can say the origin of Malware which can compromise your data security.
- Phishing
Phishing is the act of sending emails that are usually combined with a threat or request for sharing your confidential information such as bank account details, important pins, or passwords.
Simple Solution: Don’t reply to emails that demand any personal information. Also, don’t open suspicious documents attached to the email if you want to maintain data security.
- Social Engineering
Social Engineering is the act of making use of human weaknesses to get hold of personal information and protected systems. It depends on manipulating individuals rather than hacking computer systems to dive deeper into users’ personal information and break the protective shield of data security.
Simple Solution: First, Delete any nonsense requests for personal information or passwords. Second, Secure your devices with antivirus software, third, Reject irrelevant requests and set your spam filters, and last not least is to always keep your eyes and ear open to any kind of risks if you want to maintain data security and stay safe in the ever-growing world of threats.
What is the impact of data breaches on individuals and businesses?
Data breaches refer to the unauthorized access to your private information, be it malicious, intentional, or accidental. Every such access is considered to be a breach no matter if data is gained illegally or without permission. Data breaches not only impact business but also the person whose private information is accessed.
The following are a few significant business consequences of data and privacy breaches.
- Reputational Damage
For some companies, especially SMEs, the loss of their reputation is much more than the financial loss. You all might be aware of the statement that “Reputation takes years to build and seconds to break.”
If the private information of your loyal customers gets compromised, they’ll lose trust! Also, they’ll tell others that they lost the trust and this chain goes on and in a moment, the business reputation gets shattered! You all know that information flows just like a raging fire in the world of social media.
Loss of reputation is directly proportionate to the loss of business and the majority of people would not join hands with an organization that has been breached, especially if that company failed to protect its customer’s sensitive data and maintain data security.
- Financial Damage
The financial impact is generally the first thing that comes to everyone’s mind who has experienced the pain of a data breach. The impact of a data breach can be devastating. It is one of the most immediate and hard-hitting consequences that a business will have to deal with. The costs can include compensation for the affected customers, loss of customers, and many more.
Other financial consequences include potential penalties for improper maintenance of data security, discounts, legal fees, and incentives to retain the lost customers and the investment in a robust system of theft management for the current customers and employees.
- Loss of sensitive data
If a data breach has resulted in a loss of sensitive data, the results can be devastating. Personal data is any information that can be used directly or indirectly by third parties for some malicious purpose. Personal information includes everything right from your name to address to your IP address.
Just imagine if a critical patient’s medical data gets lost in a data breach, it can have a rippling effect on their medical treatment and can also cost them their life!
Note to consider* Regardless of how prepared your organization is for a data breach, there is still no room for a sense of data security in today’s evolving upgrowing cyber security landscape. Hence, it’s always a brilliant idea to develop coordinated data security in place to protect sensitive data, reduce the number of threats and guard your brand’s goodwill.
What steps you can take to prevent data breaches and maintain data security?
Data breaches continue to fade businesses across all industry verticals, no matter what. They are an expensive affair as they can cost you your goodwill and put your business at great risk. That’s why staying safe in the world of ongoing threats has become the need of the hour.
Let’s take a deep insight into the few tips that’ll help you prevent a data breach and maintain data security. Have a look!
- Install Port Locker i.e. the best data security software in your System
Small pieces of information that are stored by businesses, be it the employee records, customer details, transactions, or any other sensitive data need to be protected. Safeguarding all the pertinent information is important if you want to stay away from the risks of a data breach, identity theft, and other malicious activities.
Port Locker is the best data security software to keep your data safe and secured. It prevents vital and pertinent data to get transferred from one PC to another. You can easily block all the ports that’ll lead to unauthorized access. Installing Port Locker in your system gives you 4 main benefits that keep you on top of the data security curve:
- Detect – It provides easy detection of unauthorized attempts to access the possible ports
- Protect – It protects your data from unauthorized access
- Control – It controls the flow of information from the system of the user
- Train your employees
Employees’ training still proves to be the first line of defense against the breach of data. You need to make the employees understand that they should click on suspicious link attachments and need to keep a vigilant eye on the information asked and the language of the email.
It has been noticed that most of the malware is delivered through email attachments. Phishing can’t be warded off right away, however, it can be combatted by training your workforce. After all, you might be aware that employees are the weakest link in cyber security.
Reduce the ongoing risks of data security by training your employees the following things such as:
- Not to download email attachments from unknown sources
- Keeping the desktop locked when they are not at the desk
- Establish a strong password policy
Just like you chose a strong house lock so that no burglar ever dares to enter your house, the same way you need to establish a strong password policy so that no malicious person can hack your private information or indulge in a data breach and data security is maintained.
Keep in mind that the password for any access must be a hard nut to crack, which means that it should be unpredictable and hard to guess. Also, it must be changed frequently!
While establishing a strong password policy, you need to incorporate some of the best practices. A password must be:
- Long and complex as possible
- Should contain at least 10 characters (Inclusive of symbols, upper and lower case letter, special characters, etc.)
- Not be the same for every account
Note to Consider* Think of a phrase, then think of the creative ways to add bits of symbols, and special characters in between. Well, have a look at some passwords that’s hard to guess. It doesn’t mean that you should choose them, however, they are just for an idea!
- I@LoveChristmasTr33!!@santa@CLAU5
- Money@Heist@Tokyo234@
- Gameofthronesisbrilliant@gotib@TheB3s4
- Take a proper backup for your data
Have you ever lost your data from your phone or your system? Whether it’s the images of your family vacation, an adventurous trip, an outing with your childhood friends, or the images from your brother’s wedding that’s more than valuable to lose!
That’s where data security and data backup come into the picture!
Taking a backup is crucial for data protection. A regular data backup, either weekly or monthly is important. A proper data backup saves your important files from inevitable data loss situations that keep revolving around you just like the earth revolves around the sun.
Keep in mind that a backup strategy isn’t a thing that you need to focus only on one day of the year. However, it should be a daily task of your cyber hygiene. This way, you can stay assured that all your treasured memories and hard work are safe with you. Data backup and data security have always got your back, remember that!
- Encrypt your data at rest and in transit
While you were in elementary school, do you remember that you used to solve a series of problems, and each corrected answer correlated to a particular letter? You then used those letters to decode a message. Well, encrypting data works the same way!
In simple terms, encryption is the process through which data is encoded in such a way that it remains hidden or inaccessible for unauthorized or malicious users. It protects your information, your sensitive data, and improves communication between apps and the servers.
When your data is encrypted and data security is maintained, even if a malicious person or entity gains access to it, they will not be able to read and fetch the private information.
Bringing it all Together
Cybercriminals can make a heck of a lot of money from one cyberattack on an organization. So, do you want to fill their pockets by not following some of the best practices mentioned above? With hackers becoming more sophisticated and advanced, it’s pertinent to protect your company from any kind of attack and maintain data security at any cost.
Establishing the best practices to combat the upsetting situation of a data breach and maintain data security can be challenging however, taking the best steps feels overwhelming, resulting in a smooth IT infrastructure and interconnected IT ecosystems.
Have a look and follow the above practices if you want to keep your data safe and secure. Also, don’t forget to install Port Locker In your system as it builds a protective shield around your data which keeps hackers a mile away from your sensitive data! After all, it is the best data security software that you need to install in your system as early as possible!
