Stopping Attacks in their Tracks: What goes into a watertight data security strategy?

Controlling the transfers: Who’s got eyes on your data?

First things first: the priority within your data security strategy is making sure you know exactly who is accessing your data, and why they’re doing so. As companies like Marriott International Hotels have found out, GDPR regulations will not let you off the hook if your data security is found to be lacking – that’s why keeping an eye on who is accessing your data is the most simple way to ensure you stay clear of the firing line. There are many analytics tools and forms of data security software available that can monitor the behaviour of your data, alerting you to potential dangers and showing you exactly where your data is being transferred. Find out more about the data security disasters making headlines here. 

As one of the most effective methods of maintaining your data security strategy, encryption controls who is using your data, and flags up those who might be accessing it for the wrong reasons. By encrypting your data, you can both avoid unencrypted file transfer, and monitor all abnormal activity to make sure you catch potential weaknesses before they can attack your business. Perhaps more importantly, encryption also has the benefit of making your data more difficult to understand, meaning that in the event of a cyber attack, your data security is less likely to be damaged.

Employee training: Raising awareness of the dangers

In almost every aspect of your working life, preventing damage is a much better way of solving an issue, rather than dealing with the potential aftermath. Making sure your whole team understands the risks associated with data security is a sure-fire way to stop your data being easily compromised. Over the last few years, the most frequent method of cyber hacks on small businesses stemmed from employees opening phishing links in their emails. Educating your team on the methods cyber attackers use to infiltrate data security will ensure that simple mistakes like this will be made far less often. This approach will save you a data-loss headache, and ensure your data security strategy is future-proofed; if the people using the data you’re working with know how to keep that information safe, the room for error will be dramatically reduced.

Staying one step ahead: Regular risk assessments

It should be second nature for your data security strategy to be maintained on every device you use for work. Whether you check emails on your mobile on the commute home or use a traditional PC every day, every internet-connected device you use should be protected by a strong password that you change regularly and often. This is one of the most simple and effective ways to maintain the comprehensive nature of your data security, and especially with the advent of internet trends like BYOD becoming more popular and putting your data security strategy at risk should not be overlooked.

As well as ensuring this easy change to your security becomes a habit, it’s important to put measures in place that continually assess your data security in line with the trends new cyber threats are beginning to follow. No matter how comprehensive your software, regular data security updates across all your devices will ensure that not only are you getting the most out of your IT installation, but that you are equipped with the latest, and most accurate opportunities to protect your business. Safely updating your IT systems as part of your data security strategy will make sure that hackers will never find a vulnerability they can use to their advantage.

Back Up and Disaster Recovery: Preparing for potential damage

No matter how comprehensive your preventative measures are, it’s good practice for your data security strategy to prepare for the worst. If you do fall foul of a cyber attack, it’s important to have steps in place to ensure your business can get back on track as soon as possible. In order to carry on with business as normal, a thorough back up and disaster recovery program is essential in storing a replica of your infrastructure within a secure data centre. Implementing this as the final step to your data security strategy will give you the peace of mind that your information hasn’t been lost forever.

Don’t allow an insufficient data security strategy to let your business’s reputation down. At CIS, our expert team focus on maintaining your data security, leaving you to concentrate on sustaining your business. Contact us for solutions that will grow with you, not slow you down.