Protecting Your Business from Data Breaches
Throughout the past couple of decades, we have seen massive data breaches affect hundreds of companies across all industries. Due to these incidents, several companies have lost millions of dollars in revenue and time as they rush to reverse the damage, inform the public and fix the problem at hand.
In spite of the news headlines and the growing awareness of data leaks and breaches, most company heads fail to understand the true nature of these attacks and the consequences when they happen. Here are a few measures that can help companies avoid a data breach.
Train the Employees
The key to developing cyber security-aware employees is to provide them with the foundation to succeed. By incorporating the proper cyber security training and mentor programs, you are giving your candidates the tools to becoming prosperous cybersecurity professionals.
CIPT certification is ideal for those tech professionals that want to accelerate their data privacy career. Regarding the role that a CIPT certified professional would play in a company, it’s most relevant to those that engineer, develop and audit IT applications, services, and devices.
Don’t Mistake Compliance for Security
Many companies make the grave mistake of believing that just because they are compliant with privacy laws and regulations, they are also doing enough about cybersecurity. By doing the bare minimum, companies make themselves vulnerable to attacks.
Stay Abreast of the Latest Cyber Attacks and Security Gaps
For a company to stay abreast of the newest threats to cybersecurity, daily research is needed. Additionally, businesses should pay attention to the news and see what other organizations, specifically in their industry are doing to stay secure and if they have experienced any cyber attacks lately. Pay attention to patterns.
Regularly Scan for Bugs and System Issues
The best way to find bugs and potential threats? Continuously monitor for them. Regularly going back and reviewing previous system issues can help prevent them from happening again. Companies should ask themselves: What hardware or software are we using that is already outdated?
Secure Security Gaps and Vulnerabilities as Quickly as Possible
Professionals in the development department are always fighting to put out the most innovative applications in a timely fashion. Due to the stress plus time constraints they face, it can be easy for developers to rush finishing the writing code, so the product is completed quickly, regardless of whether or not it adequately addresses vulnerabilities. While this may not cause an issue immediately, if a hacker finds out there is a vulnerability, they can use it to misuse data from the application.
Remind Employees to Practice Proper Cybersecurity Habits at All Times
Ultimately, the most crucial way to protect a company from a cybersecurity attack is to remind all employees, whether on the security department or not, to be vigilant in practising smart cybersecurity habits at all times.
Always remind them never to open links from suspicious emails, never to use an unknown flash drive into a device, or to share their password and OTP’s with anyone. While these may seem like trivial matters, they really can go a long way in keeping an organization’s data secured and protected.