In the modern world of business, it is of paramount importance that IT systems are kept as secure as possible. Every day, thousands of hacks are attempted by cybercriminals around the world. They target businesses and consumers, regardless of their scope of practice or industry in which they are based. A successful act of cybercrime can be devastating for any organization. In addition to the significant financial and time costs involved in resolving a hack, there is a loss of business reputation that comes with such an event. Put simply, every business must have a comprehensive strategy to defend against the acts of cybercriminals and all staff must be aware of their responsibilities in this field. In this article, three specific strategies will be discussed that help to strengthen data protection across an organization and help to defend against cybercrime.
Staff education
The importance of staff education in the process of improving data protection should not be underestimated. Employees are often the first to notice potential acts of cybercrime and their actions may have a direct impact on whether the hack is successful. Staff at all levels of an organization should be educated on best practices in IT security, how to spot malware and malicious emails and how to store information securely. This should extend to knowing their responsibilities in terms of data security frameworks such as GDPR and how they should ascertain who has rights to specific and sensitive information. Put simply, a well-educated workforce that understands the risks that are posed by poor data management processes and the work of cybercriminals is one that keeps the whole organization protected.
Cloud-based security
In recent years, many companies have moved some of their key applications and software platforms from physical locations (such as on company servers) to the cloud. It is vital to understand that cloud data protection is just as important as the security of physically located assets. Poor cloud data protection will provide an easy point of entry for any hacker with a reasonable level of skill. Encryption should form a key part of any cloud-based system and companies should consider installing automated security testing solutions to accurately assess the security of their cloud-based systems. These work by scanning for vulnerabilities across the cloud and indicate where improvements to cloud architecture are needed. You can find out more about testing cloud security by clicking here.
Password management solutions
As a final point, it is important not to overlook passwords in data security. It is estimated that around 19% of staff still use weak passwords that can be easily compromised. This presents an easy route into corporate IT systems and can be the entry point that leads to a data breach or the deployment of malware. Today, some staff are required to memorize many different passwords and are told not to write down or disclose them. A far better solution is for a company to use a password management solution for company IT systems. These work by creating and safely storing complex passwords that would be extremely difficult to guess. The employee is no longer required to memorize complex passwords or resort to using weaker versions that are more memorable.
