If your company works with data, then you need to work on securing it. When it’s lost or stolen by hackers, it can mean serious trouble for your organization and your bottom line. You must understand what’s at stake, how the data can be easily lost, the steps you can take today to mitigate the damage if data loss occurs, and the strategies to prevent it altogether.
You Need To Be Paying Attention
It’s important to realize that data breaches and data loss don’t only happen to major corporations. All companies have either corporate or customer data, and hackers will not discriminate when it comes to stealing what you have, regardless of the size of your business. Social Security and credit card numbers can be sold on the black market or used for future scams, and email addresses can be used to send phishing emails and perpetuate other scams.
To understand what’s at stake, look at the numbers. Globally, 30,000 websites are hacked daily, and that includes business sites. Only 21% of small and medium-sized businesses say they can protect against threats. It’s worth pointing out that data loss isn’t always at the hands of a hacker. Sometimes, it can be human error, but whatever the case, your customers may not be so understanding.
When a company is hacked, customers may be afraid that their personal information will also be put at risk. Many customers may switch to a competitor they believe keeps them safe. That situation can result in a hit to your reputation that you’ll need to repair, which could take years. Your company could see a big loss in its ability to collect data, as the CCPA and CPRA allow many people to make you delete their information.
The cost to repair your systems, regain your customer base, and settle any potential lawsuits can be expensive. That’s why the average price of a security breach is almost $50,000. If your company can’t afford the hit, you need to look further into mitigating and preventing data loss.
Why We Lose Data
We lose data because of cybercrime or human error, and both need to be avoided if you want to keep your company shining in the best light. The good news is that you likely know about the many common types of data breaches. So, you can create a strategy to defend against them. Many hackers can gain almost immediate access to systems because the users have weak passwords that are easy to guess. Remedy that by requiring all employees to use complex passwords that include letters, numbers, and special characters and change them regularly.
Another common tactic is the phishing email. This is when the hacker sends a message that looks legitimate but contains a link or attachment that, if clicked, opens the door to a hacker or allows the installation of malware. Hackers continue to use this tactic because it works so well. Employees should go through cybersecurity training to catch the signs of phishing scams and report them to the IT team to prevent the threat.
Many cybercrimes are more successful today because companies hire remote workers. When employees are left to work alone at home, they can tend to leave cybersecurity on the back burner because they don’t have a manager or IT team sitting down the hall. They may also have personal devices connected to their home network, and if they don’t secure that tech, a hacker can get in and make their way to your system. Ensure that your remote workers undergo cybersecurity training and are set up on a VPN, which will disguise their location and encrypt their data.
It’s essential also to realize that data loss can happen due to a mistake by your employees. A common cause of data loss around the office might include when an employee accidentally deletes data without realizing it until it’s too late. A worker could forget to save their data altogether. There’s also the possibility that a computer or server could break down, leaving the data inaccessible. Mitigate the damage caused in these scenarios by frequently backing up the data and using a cloud software solution to back up data automatically.
Mitigate And Prevent Data Loss
Despite your best efforts, you may be unable to thwart every data loss threat. Still, you should have a plan to mitigate the chances of data loss and prevent a breach from causing too much damage. The first step is to understand the threats to identify a breach before it can take hold. Managers may need to partner with the IT team or a consulting agency to make that happen. An expert well-versed in cybersecurity can analyze your network traffic. They can look for peculiarities and notify you if they see a vulnerability.
If a breach occurs, the next step of a mitigation strategy is to isolate the infected applications and close off any backdoors and open access points, so the breach cannot happen again. It’s important to create a risk management assessment now so you’re prepared when necessary and able to form a team that can tackle a potential problem at a moment’s notice.
You might also consider the security and data protection you get when working with a cloud service. By entering into a hybrid cloud environment, your data can be uploaded immediately and you can access it at any time. Most cloud providers will have their own cybersecurity team, so they can also watch your data and prevent loss. To prevent issues, talk with the cloud provider and see what protections they provide so you can get on the same page.
When cybercrime can run rampant in our modern world, it’s important to have a strategy to mitigate and prevent data loss. Consider what a breach means to your bottom line and put the proper protections in place today.
