Any business, regardless of industry, has access to large amounts of personal and sensitive data. This data can include everything from customer information like shipping addresses and credit card data to employee health care details. No matter how solid you think your data privacy protection may be, cybersecurity attacks are always possible. Even the most prominent companies, such as AT&T and Dell, experienced massive data breaches in 2024. Fortunately, there are numerous tools that brands can leverage to keep their data safe. Consider implementing these five tech tools to ensure your business is safe and secure from cyber threats. Integrated Security Solutions When protecting your business, it’s best to take a comprehensive approach with an integrated security solution. One example is to utilize an endpoint protection platform or EPP. This platform uses a firewall, anti-malware capabilities, and port and device control to help protect your business. Unlike antivirus software, an EPP allows you to control what is allowed to run on your endpoints and servers. You can select the specific software, executables, and scripts that may run at any given time. With these controls in place, the EPP allows you to stop malicious software from running and minimize cyber threats. Multi-Factor Authentication Passwords are a common and secure way to keep your data and personal information safe. Yet, 78% of people use the same password across multiple accounts, making password protection less reliable. That’s where multi-factor authentication, or MFA, can come into play. MFA is an extra layer of security that protects your online data by requiring more than just a password. You may receive a prompt to enter a code sent to your phone or answer a secret question. With this extra step, MFA can prevent unauthorized access and make it harder for hackers to break into your software. From a business perspective, MFAs protect organizational data such as employee addresses and banking information. You may also use it to access secure third-party sites for your business, including cloud-based management tools and connected workspaces. Virtual Private Networks With remote and hybrid work becoming more mainstream, it’s rare to find employees tied to their office desks. They’re sending work emails from practically anywhere and logging onto workplace software, too. You might consider requiring a virtual private network, or VPN, to keep your network secure. It’s a safer route than using public Wi-Fi from a local coffee shop! A VPN establishes a digital connection between a device and a remote server. While using a VPN, the user’s data and IP address are encrypted. Any online searches, downloads, or visited pages go through the VPN before being sent to the internet service provider. This data then appears to come from the VPN, making it difficult for hackers to locate and track users online. Firewalls As the name implies, a firewall acts like a barrier. It monitors traffic to and from your website and blocks traffic based on a predetermined set of criteria. A firewall can protect your business from malicious software, spyware, malware, and other threats. Proxy firewalls, sometimes known as gateway firewalls, application firewalls, or proxy servers, are often considered the most secure. They filter messages and data exchanges between a user and the sites they are accessing. Businesses can implement proxy firewalls to analyze traffic and mask internal network details. They help create a barrier between your company’s internal network and the internet, protecting against hackers and cyber threats. A firewall can also protect your employees and their workplace devices, ensuring that only approved devices may access sensitive information. For example, only a few select individuals at your company should have access to employee social security numbers. Adding a firewall to specific workplace devices will ensure that only these people can obtain access at any time. Data Encryption Tools Lastly, your business might consider using data encryption to protect data from being altered, compromised, or stolen. This tool scrambles data into a secret code that can no longer be read or understood. A unique digital key is required to unlock this code. This digital key should remain secure, with only a few individuals from your company allowed access. Data encryption falls into two main buckets: symmetric and asymmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption, also known as a shared key algorithm, uses a single key to encrypt the plaintext and decipher ciphertext. The sender and the receiver have access to the same key. Asymmetric encryption requires both a public and a private key. It offers a second layer of security, which tends to make the encryption harder to break. In addition to preventing stored data corruption and ensuring data authenticity, data encryption facilitates secure file sharing within your business. Implementing secure file sharing may be advantageous in protecting your company from a data breach. Even if the hacker gains access to your business network, they won’t be able to decipher the encrypted data. Conclusion As the world becomes more hyper-connected, it opens up the possibility for more collaborations, interconnectivity, and, unfortunately, more cyberattacks. While embracing the digital landscape is essential, finding a solution to address your business’s security is just as important. Any business, regardless of industry, has access to large amounts of personal and sensitive data. This data can include everything from customer information like shipping addresses and credit card data to employee health care details. No matter how solid you think your data privacy protection may be, cybersecurity attacks are always possible. Even the most prominent companies, such as AT&T and Dell, experienced massive data breaches in 2024. Fortunately, there are numerous tools that brands can leverage to keep their data safe. Consider implementing these five tech tools to ensure your business is safe and secure from cyber threats. Integrated Security Solutions When protecting your business, it’s best to take a comprehensive approach with an integrated security solution. One example is to utilize an endpoint protection platform or EPP. This platform uses a firewall, anti-malware capabilities, and port and device control to help protect your business. endpoint protection platform Unlike antivirus software, an EPP allows you to control what is allowed to run on your endpoints and servers. You can select the specific software, executables, and scripts that may run at any given time. With these controls in place, the EPP allows you to stop malicious software from running and minimize cyber threats. Multi-Factor Authentication Passwords are a common and secure way to keep your data and personal information safe. Yet, 78% of people use the same password across multiple accounts, making password protection less reliable. That’s where multi-factor authentication, or MFA, can come into play. MFA is an extra layer of security that protects your online data by requiring more than just a password. You may receive a prompt to enter a code sent to your phone or answer a secret question. 78% of people With this extra step, MFA can prevent unauthorized access and make it harder for hackers to break into your software. From a business perspective, MFAs protect organizational data such as employee addresses and banking information. You may also use it to access secure third-party sites for your business, including cloud-based management tools and connected workspaces. Virtual Private Networks With remote and hybrid work becoming more mainstream, it’s rare to find employees tied to their office desks. They’re sending work emails from practically anywhere and logging onto workplace software, too. You might consider requiring a virtual private network, or VPN, to keep your network secure. It’s a safer route than using public Wi-Fi from a local coffee shop! A VPN establishes a digital connection between a device and a remote server. While using a VPN, the user’s data and IP address are encrypted. Any online searches, downloads, or visited pages go through the VPN before being sent to the internet service provider. This data then appears to come from the VPN, making it difficult for hackers to locate and track users online. Firewalls As the name implies, a firewall acts like a barrier. It monitors traffic to and from your website and blocks traffic based on a predetermined set of criteria. A firewall can protect your business from malicious software, spyware, malware, and other threats. Proxy firewalls, sometimes known as gateway firewalls, application firewalls, or proxy servers, are often considered the most secure. They filter messages and data exchanges between a user and the sites they are accessing. Businesses can implement proxy firewalls to analyze traffic and mask internal network details. They help create a barrier between your company’s internal network and the internet, protecting against hackers and cyber threats. A firewall can also protect your employees and their workplace devices, ensuring that only approved devices may access sensitive information. For example, only a few select individuals at your company should have access to employee social security numbers. Adding a firewall to specific workplace devices will ensure that only these people can obtain access at any time. Data Encryption Tools Lastly, your business might consider using data encryption to protect data from being altered, compromised, or stolen. This tool scrambles data into a secret code that can no longer be read or understood. A unique digital key is required to unlock this code. This digital key should remain secure, with only a few individuals from your company allowed access. Data encryption falls into two main buckets: symmetric and asymmetric encryption. Symmetric encryption, also known as a shared key algorithm, uses a single key to encrypt the plaintext and decipher ciphertext. The sender and the receiver have access to the same key. Asymmetric encryption requires both a public and a private key. It offers a second layer of security, which tends to make the encryption harder to break. In addition to preventing stored data corruption and ensuring data authenticity, data encryption facilitates secure file sharing within your business. Implementing secure file sharing may be advantageous in protecting your company from a data breach. Even if the hacker gains access to your business network, they won’t be able to decipher the encrypted data. Conclusion As the world becomes more hyper-connected, it opens up the possibility for more collaborations, interconnectivity, and, unfortunately, more cyberattacks. While embracing the digital landscape is essential, finding a solution to address your business’s security is just as important.
