Data is one of your most valuable assets, providing insights for making strategic decisions and building stronger partnerships with customers and partners. It can also be a risk if you fail to take the proper precautions to safeguard it.
Data breaches can cost companies millions of dollars. They can also harm the brand’s value, degrade confidence and trigger sanctions from regulators. Data breaches are inevitable. However there are ways to minimize the risk and safeguard yourself from cybercriminals.
1. Authorize and authenticate users to authenticate and authorize.
Data security requires a robust authentication and authorization process to ensure that only authorized persons have access to your information. This can be accomplished by requiring two or more forms are used to access your data, for example things that the user is aware of (passwords and tokens) or something is equipped with (electronics and other devices), or something that they actually possess (biometrics like fingerprints or face recognition).
2. Encrypt everything.
Your most sensitive information is classified information. Its unauthorized disclosure could have grave consequences for your company or individuals affected. To guard classified information, it should always be secured and encrypted using the use of a decryption key that is only available to authorized personnel. Your team should periodically reassess classifications and formulate a plan to manage encryption keys to prevent them from being compromised.
3. Reduce non-essential data access.
Most employees don’t require full access to the data of your company. This helps minimize the opportunity for a breach by reducing the number of points of entry for potential threats. It is best that users only have access to the data they require to perform their job.