A data breach is a disaster for an organization. It damages data, system protocols and reputation. It also damages the trust of consumers.
Cybersecurity covers safety from cyberattacks while data protection centers on data management, availability and unauthorized access prevention. Combining these two disciplines gives you more control of your data, and lowers IT costs.
Identity and Access Management
Identity and Access Management (IAM) includes the policies, programs and technologies that reduce access-related risks within an organization. It ensures that authorized users can use applications, systems and networks while limiting access for unauthorized individuals.
When an individual attempts to access an application or system, the IAM solution authenticates that person’s identity and then determines whether they have permission to do so. The level of privilege is typically determine by the job title and security clearance of the individual, but IAM also allows administrators to define a wide range of access levels.
IAM solutions also help improve efficiency and productivity by automating onboarding, updating, and offboarding processes for users. This helps eliminate human error by reducing the number of password resets and help desk requests, and it allows admins to focus on more complex tasks that add value to the business. It can also protect the company from cyber attacks and data theft by ensuring that only trusted individuals have access to sensitive information.
Encryption
Encryption is the process of concealing data using code so that only those with the key can read it. It can be use to protect data at rest (such as on a hard drive or in the cloud), as well as in transit, meaning that it can prevent hackers from intercepting emails and other communications.
Encryption also allows users to maintain anonymity while communicating online, which is essential for groups at risk of violence and other human rights violations, including women and people of diverse genders and sexual expressions. However, proposals for backdoor access to encryption systems, laws that criminalise the possession of cryptographic software and hardware, and persecution of digital security experts, all undermine the right to privacy.
Companies that want to keep their data secure must adopt strong encryption measures as part of their cybersecurity strategy. This helps to minimize risks, build trust and comply with data protection regulations. Encryption also enables organizations to avoid costly data breaches, which can damage the reputation of a business and lead to fines for noncompliance.
Data Loss Prevention
Data loss prevention is a cybersecurity methodology that prevents the unauthorized disclosure of critical information. For example, it stops users from copying a file to an external HDD or emailing it to someone outside the organization. It also halts the transfer of regulated or compliance related data (such as HIPAA, SOX and PCI).
The first step in DLP is classification. This involves identifying the information your organization would be most devastated to lose and categorizing it. This allows your security team to create policies that protect this sensitive information.
With this information in hand, your cybersecurity team can monitor files, emails and cloud storage for DLP violations. This can reveal risky behaviors such as bulk downloading of corporate files. This approach is enhance with the capabilities of a Security Service Edge solution like a Next Gen Secure Web Gateway. This allows your security team to detect insider threats and stop them before they cause major damage.
Backups
Keeping multiple copies of data is the best defense against accidental changes, malicious attacks and natural or man-made disasters. A full backup creates a complete image of the data at a specific point in time, which can be restored as a whole system to a clean state.
Backups should be performed on a regular basis, depending on how often the data changes and how valuable it is. Keeping several backup copies on different media helps reduce the risk that they all fail at the same time due to simple wear and tear or hardware malfunction. The 3-2-1 rule recommends that organizations store at least three backup copies on two different storage media, one of which is offsite.
All backup files and media should be encrypted to safeguard them against unauthorized access. This also protects the data from malware that could infect them, which is not uncommon, as millions of sensitive records have been compromised by backup-related gaffes over the last few years.
