Simple Best Practices
The best practices you need to follow to avoid a data breach aren’t very complicated and aren’t going to tie you up in knots. They boil down to just two things:
1. Ensuring data is kept in secure locations, especially when it includes sensitive information
2. Putting access controls in place that work on a ‘need-to-know’ basis
So – like we said, not very complicated, but of course there’s a bit more involved. The thing about storing data in a secure location is that it makes it much easier for whoever manages your IT to respond to a breach. If access controls are in place then it’s simpler to see how the data breach happened and how to repair it.
Identifying a Data Breach
You can’t fix a data breach unless you know it’s occurred. Cybercriminals know this and use sophisticated tricks to conceal the fact that they’ve got into your system. Also, the faster you can identify a data breach the less damage they can do.
One weapon that businesses are using today is smart technology that constantly monitors systems in order to detect cybersecurity breaches. The advantages are clear. A 2020 Data Breach and Security study by Netwrix suggested that businesses using automation could often detect data breaches in minutes. Compare that to those who didn’t use automation: in 56% of cases it took days to detect a cyberthreat.
Launch a Clear Response
It’s not a good feeling when you realise some shadowy criminal is targeting your IT system. Be proactive and give yourself some peace of mind by formulating a cyberthreat response strategy (if you haven’t already). The important thing to do to ensure it works well is to make sure it’s standardized.
Your staff are the frontline against cyberattacks and training is essential. Staff should know all about phishing, password ‘hygiene’ and other basic security measures. You might consider exploring how well each employee understands what they need to do to maintain system integrity and what cyberthreats might look like. Some might need more training, and all staff can use an occasional refresher course to ensure that they stay alert and aware.
Be Prepared – Always
Preventive measures are really important, because it’s much better to prevent a cyberattack than recover from one. The consequences of a cybersecurity fail can be massive, and can bring a business to its knees. The reality is that, no matter how hard you try, it’s impossible to eliminate all risk. That means you should have a strategy in place in anticipation of a worst-case scenario.
A business continuity plan is an explicit strategy that covers how you can respond in the case of disruptions to your operations, whether that’s IT issues or any other major problems. A full backup and disaster recovery (BDR) plan is something all businesses need to protect against potentially catastrophic data loss. Note that it’s not just the ways that people use your IT that can create gaps in your defenses. It could be a vulnerability in your network. Make sure staff access credentials and software security patches are always up-to-date.
You don’t have to deal with data breaches alone. Quikteks can help. Call us today at (973) 882-4644 for tools, support and advice.