Businesses across the globe are emphasizing more on data protection. The need for digital transformation of business operations is inevitable today, but the more digitalized a business gets, the more vulnerable its IT infrastructure becomes. However, the growing importance and complexity of data protection are also signaling that the old data protection approaches are not addressing the current needs of businesses. So, there is a need for a modern approach to data protection that not just addresses the current security vulnerabilities and loopholes, but also prepares a business for potential future threats. Therefore, this blog will emphasize how businesses can practice the modern approach to data protection.
Five Modern & Effective Data Protection Practices
Most of the cyberattacks are targeted at small and medium-sized businesses. One study shows that 60% of small businesses go out of business in just 6 months of a cyberattack. Many of those businesses must be using some level of cybersecurity measures, but probably not strong enough to prevent data breaches. So, the following are the five crucial modern data protection practices that every business should deploy today:
1. Multi-Factor Authentication
Almost all tech giants are now emphasizing multi-factor authentication. It adds a layer of authentication after you have entered the login credentials (username and password). The second authentication can be an OTP sent on mobile or app, or it could be a fingerprint or face identification. This way, even if the attackers have managed to access the initial login credentials, they cannot penetrate and access the system due to the second layer of authentication.
2. Encrypt Data Activities
Encryption is a key to protecting the data even if it gets into the hands of attackers. It is important that you encrypt data at rest and in transit and also monitor data activity to verify and audit data. Data at rest refers to the data that is stored physically in digital forms, such as database, cloud storage, data warehouse, tapes, off-site/cloud backups, etc. Data in transit refers to the data that is in motion over the internet, within the internal company network, etc. There are different software solutions available that can assist with encrypting data at rest and in transit. So, another recommended modern data protection approach is to encrypt data activities thoroughly.
3. Employees Training
Many cyberattacks are successful just because they manage to trick employees into clicking malicious links or sharing sensitive data unintentionally. The training of employees is of significant importance today. Depending on your business model and potential vulnerabilities, employees should be trained with all the potential tricks and tactics that cybercriminals can deploy against them. Moreover, they should also know what to do when they suspect malicious activity.
4. Plan Disaster Recovery
There are many stories of businesses that became the victims of cyberattacks despite ensuring cybersecurity measures. So, other than ensuring robust data protection, it is important that you plan disaster recovery to minimize downtime and sustain your business after the attack. For that, you must ensure data backup and deploy recovery software solutions that can recover your system in minimal time after the attack.
5. Leverage Managed Services
Managed IT security services are on a rise today. The experts running such managed services are more experienced and resourceful in tackling the current cybersecurity challenges. So, they can better reflect what crucial infrastructure you need to protect the data and how to implement effective security measures. Moreover, there are also tons of other benefits with managed services, such as low cost, reliability, scalability, etc. So, if you are in a position where you cannot manage an on-site security team or you want high expertise, then opt for a reputed managed IT security service.
Wrapping Up
Data protection is a serious concern for businesses today considering the ever-growing scale of cyberattacks. Neglecting data protection or setting up weak measures make the sustainability of the business a big concern. Therefore, it is crucial for businesses to adopt a modern approach to data protection. Above we have discussed some highly acknowledged data protection measures by market experts. To sum up, deploy the above measures and also look for other security solutions depending on your business model and potential vulnerabilities.
