Privacy And Data Security: 10 Effective Ways to Keep Your Business Safe

Do you wanna know a secret that will help keep your business safe from security breaches? I bet you do.

It seems like every day there are new stories about security breaches in high-profile businesses around the world.

According to UpGuard, there was a security breach in LinkedIn. There was a Dark Web forum in June 2021 that offered data associated with 700 million LinkedIn users.

About 92% of the 756 million LinkedIn users were impacted by this incident.

The data was leaked in two waves, with the first wave exposing 500 million users, and the second wave revealing 700 million users.

One million records were published by the hackers to prove that the breach was real. The following are some of the data that was collected:

• Email addresses
• Names in their fullest form
• Mobile numbers
• Geolocation records
• Username and profile URLs for LinkedIn
• Experiences from both a personal and professional perspective
• Genders
• Social media accounts and information about them

Using LinkedIn’s API, the hacker scraped data.

Since the data scraping was prohibited, LinkedIn claims that this was not a data breach.

A data breach is more likely as a result of the leaked data, which is sufficient to launch a deluge of cyberattacks targeting the exposed users.

As a result of these attacks, organizations of all sizes are more vulnerable to data breaches and lack robust security strategies.

Security of your company’s data is critical to the overall health of your company to protect confidential information, financial records, and employee records.

Privacy and data security are important topics that information security professionals must constantly consider.

You could suffer financial and reputational damage if your security is compromised, to curb this issue, we came up with 10 effective tips that will keep your company records safe from breaches.

Endeavor to follow these tips and you would be protecting your company from any future harm.

1. Keep Your Data Protected, Not Just The Perimeter Around It.

Many ways exist for customers, suppliers, and employees to circumvent a firewall. All of these people are capable of bypassing exterior cyber-security and misusing sensitive data.

As a result, almost 90% of all security budgets are spent on firewall technology.

Your security efforts should be focused on the data itself, not just the perimeter for this reason.

2. Be on The Lookout For Insider Threat

Since external threats are often portrayed in the media as the most serious and costly, it’s easy to imagine them.

However, in reality, it’s your insiders who could do the most damage.

An insider threat is a cybersecurity risk that originates from within an organization, as its name implies.

It is usually committed by an employee, a partner, vendor, or contractor who has legitimate access to an organization’s systems and networks.

Insider attacks are difficult to detect and prevent due to their nature.

A ransomware worm can be spread by clicking on an email attachment that appears to be from a trusted source.

Other types of insider threats are:

• When an individual tries to gain access to data or systems that are unrelated to his or her normal job duties.
• Unauthorized attempts are made to circumvent security.
• A violation of the corporation’s rules.
• Anger and resentment are directed at fellow employees. In addition, files are copied from sensitive folders.

Worldwide, these threats are the most common and the most expensive.

There are preventive measures you can take to curb insider threats. They are

1. Carry out risk assessments at the enterprise level.
2. Policies and controls should be clearly documented and consistently enforced.
3. Physical security should be established in the workplace.
4. Secure your network by using software and appliances.
5. Implement policies and practices for password and account management that are as strict as possible.

3. Encrypt All of Your Electronic Devices

The use of mobile or personal devices is increasing in the modern world.

Can you trust these devices? Check that all data is encrypted and that it stays encrypted during migrations.

To encrypt your Android device follow these simple steps:

• Charge the device’s battery by plugging it in (required).
• Security > Screen lock should have a password or PIN set for the user’s convenience.
• Select Security from the drop-down menu in Settings.

• Select “Encrypt phone” from the menu.
• For encryption to begin, read the notice and press “Encrypt phone.”
• Always keep your phone plugged in until the process is complete.

To encrypt your Windows device:

• Locate the Control Panel > BitLocker Drive Encryption.
• Located next to the drive you wish to encrypt, click “Turn on BitLocker”.
• The password or passphrase should be long and contain a variety of letters and numbers.

• A backup copy of the recovery key should be made by using one of the methods described.
• Begin the encryption process by selecting whether to encrypt only used disk space (which is faster).

4. Test Your Security

Your company will not be protected from attacks if you install antivirus software on every computer or device.

Because of recent data breaches, it’s important to hire a professional organization to conduct a security audit.

Consider walking around your office and taking a closer look at your employees’ workstations.

A sticky note with a password written on it is almost certain to be found if you look hard enough.

5. Eliminate Any Redundant Information

Especially in healthcare, finance, the public sector, and education, sensitive information is a vital part of many organizations’ operations.

The use of information disposal mechanisms helps to prevent the loss or theft of stale data.

Discarding or altering redundant data in an indecipherable manner will help to ensure that your employees do not keep it.

6. Cybersecurity Spending Must Increase

There is no doubt that data security is a priority for CIOs, as it is the number one threat to IT infrastructure.

There is growing recognition among large companies that cybersecurity must be an integral part of all business processes.

Many of these companies have appointed chief security officers, often to board positions.

7. Secure Your Accounts With Strong Passwords

The password policies of many organizations are still lax, resulting in the use of simple, generic, and hackable passwords for critical accounts, which have access to sensitive and valuable data.

The first step you can take to improve your security in this area is to create strong passwords.

Alternate your passwords at least once every 90 days and make them reasonably complex. 12345 or admin1 should never be used as a password.

Come up with a unique password that will be easy to remember but hard for anyone to guess.

These are examples of a unique password you can create according to Lifewire:

It is a bad idea to write down your passwords and leave them on your computer for others to discover.

8. Regularly Update Your Software

Ascertain that your computer is patched and updated properly. In many cases, this is the most effective way to ensure that it is adequately safeguarded.

In terms of security, the most recent update has a higher chance of stopping newer security threats than older versions.

Regular software updates are recommended because hackers and ransomware strains are constantly adapting to exploit vulnerabilities in older software versions.

9. Regularly Make a Backup of Your Data

Already, this should be a key component of your IT security plan. In the event of accidental file deletion or a ransomware attack, you’ll be prepared.

Ways you can backup your data

• Keep It in the Cloud: Google Drive, iCloud, OneDrive, Dropbox
• Put It on a USB Flash Drive.
• Save It to a NAS Device: A NAS (network-attached storage) is a type of server dedicated to the storage of data over the network.

Depending on the drive and your computer, it can be wired or wireless, and, once configured, it can appear as just another drive on your computer’s desktop.

• Burn It to CD, DVD, or Blu-ray.
• Save to an External Hard Drive: USB 3.0, External and portable hard drives.

Once all your data is backed up, you won’t be worried if anything goes wrong.

So look for a secured and remote location to store backup data and information.

10. Develop a Security Mindset Throughout The Company

A password and username are the responsibility of everyone who has one.

It is the responsibility of IT administrators to remind their managers and employees regularly that they must not share login information with anyone outside of their organization.

Security of company data is everyone’s responsibility, not just a handful of IT employees.

The security of a company should be in the best interest of every employee and vice versa.

Conclusion

Be rest assured that each of the tips above is sure to give you the best privacy and data security. You can sit back, relax and not worry about any security breach whatsoever if you adhere to the above tips.