In the modern world, we spend more and more of our personal and professional lives online. We carry out all our financial transactions, music purchases, bill payments, social event schedules, and even some of our job tasks online. This increased reliance on the internet and digital networks has advantages and disadvantages.
Online fraudsters, identity thieves, thieves of your data, and even idle miscreants lurk in the shadows, waiting to steal from you, steal your identity, or make you look bad. It is, therefore, crucial to protect the company’s digital data. This NordLayer Learning Centre article will help you understand how to leverage various cybersecurity methods’ potential to protect business data.
What Is Digital Data?
Digital data is the electronic representation of knowledge in a language or structure that computers can comprehend. Digital data is information translated from binary into a language that computers can comprehend.
The advantage of using digital data is that it can represent any analog input, including everything from simple text documents to the outcomes of genome sequencing.
How Do You Safeguard Data?
Data protection measures include the following to prevent unauthorized access:
- Putting multi-factor authentication into practice.
- Adhere to the rules requiring strong passwords.
- Carrying out data backups to increase the chance of recovery.
- Encrypting both moving and still data.
- Implementing Zero Trust approach to security.
8 Practical Methods to Protect your Business’s Digital Data
Cyberattack targets are not only large organizations. Small businesses, nonprofit organizations, and clubs must also safeguard their IT infrastructure.
Here are some practical measures you can take today to improve data security.
● Disseminate Documentation
You must keep thorough records of all data processing you perform, including ongoing records of the justifications for your data processing, the individuals with whom you have shared data, why and how you shared the data, and the data you have kept. These records must be kept up-to-date because the ICO may request them at any time.
● Ensure the Security of Your Wireless Network
It’s important to remember that hackers constantly look for openings to attack wireless networks. An encryption key may be challenging for users who aren’t very tech-savvy, but hackers can easily decipher it. To protect your company, configure your router with the strongest encryption possible, and disable broadcasting to make your network undetectable. Hackers believe they cannot hack into anything they cannot see.
● Observe Who has Access to What
You must strictly control who has access to your IT systems and facilities; leaving anyone unattended puts your systems in danger. It is better if fewer people have access to the information. Limit employee access to your IT as much as possible. Consider limiting access to your systems if someone leaves or is gone for a long time.
● Make Copies of Everything
You can immediately increase the security of your company’s data by regularly creating backups of everything. The last thing you want is to become a cyberattack victim and undo everything you and your team have laboriously accomplished.
Simply put, you should keep three separate copies of your data—two on different media types and one offsite. If you follow this advice, you will be equipped to recover the functionality of your website in the event of an attack, allowing you to unwind.
● Utilize Two-Factor Authentication
A hacker cannot prove their identity without your phone and two-factor authentication (2FA, also known as multi-factor authentication), even if they have your password. You can use one tool to address two problems because password managers also have this feature.
It is imperative to remember that you should never reveal your 2FA code to anyone. Never respond to business calls, texts, or emails asking for this code. The only purpose for using it is to log in to the service you are attempting to access. You can enable 2FA by texting a special code or downloading an app.
● Discard the Data Properly
It is crucial to have appropriate procedures to dispose of data that is no longer required to lessen the risk of a security breach. When company data has been properly removed from retired and repurposed devices and storage media, it cannot be recovered and won’t be misused. Most circumstances still permit easily available technology to access your data.
Businesses should consider implementing a stringent data destruction policy that details the protocol for each use case, regardless of whether these devices are distributed within the company or are discarded when they have served their purpose.
● Watch Out for Suspicious Emails
Learn how to recognize suspicious emails for yourself and your staff. Watch out for telltale signs such as foul language, urgent calls, and requests for cash to avoid being caught off guard. Never trust anything that seems shady, and instruct your staff to follow your lead.
Final Thoughts
You will be able to create an effective strategy to protect your company’s digital data once you have completed all of the above steps and thoroughly understand its intrinsic value. Your company’s ability to protect digital data will determine its long-term viability and financial stability.