Due to the significant rise in the amount and frequency of data thefts because of breaches, along with the increasing threat of cyberattacks due to the ongoing conflicts, companies worldwide are emphasizing tactical and strategic measures to strengthen their data security.
The following are the six best measures you can put in place to enhance your defense capabilities and secure your sensitive personal data.
1. Utilize Encryption
It’s arguably one of the most excellent methods to handle private data, and it is critical. Only an attached password should be capable of decoding encrypted files or emails.
The best part of encrypting data as a precaution is that if it is breached while at rest or in transit, you can lessen regulatory fines since the actual data has not been disclosed.
Furthermore, the cost of adopting encryption is relatively low compared to other solutions. It aids in the preservation of data integrity and the confidence of your clients and partners.
You can also pair this aspect with identity authentication API because when you utilize authentication protocol, the API authentication procedure confirms the identity of the individual seeking to connect.
The protocol delivers plain text or encrypted credentials from the remote client seeking a connection to the remote access server.
Modern authorization methods and procedures can safely validate the identity of the user and the service provider’s identity while minimizing discrepancies and faults.
2. Consider Practical, Proven, and Approved Incident Response Plan (IRP)
Compliance with quality standards is required to maintain data security, which is the most significant concern for small and large enterprises.
A proven, validated, and working IRP is one of the best practices for reacting and responding swiftly to data breaches and how to repair such.
It also reduces the time spent identifying and responding to a data breach. It assists enterprises in gaining more control over breaches and lowering regulatory fines.
Maintaining frequent backups of sensitive data is one of the most critical components to incorporate into the strategy and implement as a practice to lessen the effect of the damages a data breach may cause to the organization.
3. Application of Multi-Factor Authentication
You cannot go wrong with this one. It is an excellent method for protecting your system and sensitive information from dangerous intruders.
Regardless of whether a hacker can compromise your credentials, it would help if you guaranteed that there is another means to prevent them from obtaining access to your systems. MFA is a security method that requires three or more credential verifications to identify users.
It is a vital part of identity and access management that involves extra credentials such as a security pin from the user’s smartphone, the response to a secret question created by the user and known only by the user, a fingerprint, face recognition, and others.
However, users may find them burdensome, so it is prudent to have the bare minimum of additional checks depending on the minimum-security level appropriate for the organization’s security.
4. Application of Intelligent Automation
Conventional cyber security systems have limits due to the enormous quantity of potential assaults, far more significant than threat detection intelligence can assess.
Reacting to all of these warnings might be difficult. Delayed investigations expose a business to the danger of disastrous data breaches when you cannot respond on time.
Adopting new technologies such as Intelligent Automation (IA) can address these crucial issues by filling the labor scarcity for Cyber skilled positions while also linking apps and older systems that do not operate well with each other.
Cyber security automation helps improve data protection adherence, threat intelligence, the average time to identify attacks, efficiently fix weaknesses, and assist in obtaining consistent Root Cause Analysis of security flaws.
Access control, vulnerability analysis, patch management, incident analysis, monitoring of security measures deployed, and other areas are areas where IA may assist.
5. Frequent Security Awareness Training
The most prevalent cause of most security breaches is the end user’s lack of comprehension of data security policies. The end user is the most dangerous threat to your data security.
It usually occurs to users who have privileged access to sensitive data. Some phishing emails persuade workers to surrender their passwords through tactically astute social engineering approaches.
Suppose you want to minimize the likelihood of such breaches; in that case, you should inform your staff about quality standards, contemporary cybersecurity dangers, and the procedures they must take to keep data safe.
6. Use the Least Privilege Approach
The Great Resignation has touched each sort of company and, paired with the pandemic’s two years and counting, has resulted in enormous staff turnover.
The idea of least privilege is one of the most fundamental (and most straightforward) aspects of excellent cybersecurity: A user should only have access to the required data and systems for their job.
Jobs are reformed when individuals leave companies and are substituted, and companies should reassess approved access to data permissions. Knowing who has access to sensitive information and limiting rights to the bare minimum can assist in avoiding or mitigating data breaches.
Final Thoughts
Even though not every data breach is identical, all companies must have a system that can apply security best practices such as sensitive data detection.
It has become increasingly normal to hear about major security breaches. Customers are perplexed as to how this can continue. It appears that every organization must take data security seriously. Data breaches cost corporations a lot of money and destroy their brand.
