All Systems Compromised: The Growing Concern and Need for Data Security

2017 was the year ransomware went mainstream. The WannaCry ransomware attack took hold worldwide, resulting in over 300,000 infected computers. The purpose of this worm? To encrypt user data and demand payment through the cryptocurrency, Bitcoin.

Ransomware attacks had a 300% increase that year…

and it’s only getting worse.

One must wonder what they can do to protect their important, private information from prying eyes.

This article explains the importance of data security and the basic actions one may take to ensure that their data doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. Or worse, become available to everyone online.

 

Data Security: A Need for All, and What We Can Do

The data that computer systems, corporations, and malicious individuals have on you is unimaginable. Nearly every interaction with a web-connected device tracks information like your geolocation, browsing habits, searches, voice, and photo/videos.

Our shift to cloud computing and the “Internet of Things” was rapid, but the security of these platforms and services was not. Big Data is big money, which creates an incentive for all businesses to track their users. Unfortunately, not every company takes data security seriously.

What should we know, and what should do?

 

Adopt Data Governance

Data governance for healthcare is at the forefront of this need for security. Tens of millions of patient data was illegally accessed throughout 2016 and 2017. Data governance, the process of creating a security policy within an organization, could have prevented most of these intrusions.

Yet, healthcare was but one of many industries affected by security breaches. Private businesses, government, educational institutes, and the military were major focal points, too.

Data governance is implemented through a combination of:

• Security best practices
• Assigning user roles
• Installing a policy framework

In basic terms, it consists of standard security protocols with an added layer brought about through permission-based access to data. It’s a hierarchy of data flow and access.

 

Backup and Encryption

An overwhelming majority of businesses fail to conduct regular backups. This is a shocking thought, considering these business owners attribute hardware failure and ransomware as their main data concerns. Human error, social media misuse, and relaxed BYOD policies also contribute to this concern.

There’s no shortage of backup solutions, so what’s preventing these businesses from doing so? Chief among these reasons are:

• Costs
• Selection
• Implementation

Data backup and recovery is like insurance, which few people enjoy paying for. Yet, intrusions, hardware failure, and malware attacks are a numbers game. If you operate long enough, you will experience the negative effects of data loss at some point if you don’t properly secure it.

Service and program selection pose problems, too, due to the overwhelming choice one has. Ultimately, however, it matters not which data security/backup service you use, so long as you use one in the first place.

To make your choice a little easier, choose a reputable company like Carbonite or Barracuda.

Lastly, a concern many businesses have with backups and encryption is limited or slow access to their business files. This concern mostly revolves around having to wait for access since online files need to transfer. The thing is, this pales in comparison to the dangers you face with limited data backup.

Simple systems like Dropbox and Google Drive auto sync files between the workstation and cloud backup for instantaneous access.

 

Security Attacks Will Continue. Are You Prepared?

Data security is a must for every business that accesses the web. This applies to small businesses to bring their operations online, too. Physical intrusion, phone phreaking, and phishing are applicable offline in the same manner as they’re performed online.

It’s time to protect your business from data breaches, intrusions, and attacks.

Security is easy once the decision is finalized. It requires the initial creation of policies and routines, yet it’s a marginal time and financial investment compared to the negative financial and social outcomes that result from security flaws.

How will you protect your business?

We hope you found the promoted post as entertaining & informative as we did!