Why Should "BIG" Brands Pay More Attention to Data Security?

Let’s dive straight in. Data security in an enterprise is a series of protective digital privacy measures that involve monitoring, managing and delivering data objects across the organization.

It is an amalgamation of various tools, techniques, frameworks, and policies involved to keep your data secured irrespective of where it is being stored and how it is being used.

Data security is an integral part of any organization. Big ventures rely on data storage and transactions to perform a huge chunk of their operations. And since they are accountable for the confidentiality of client data and employee information, data security has the power to make or devastate a company.

Why should enterprises take data security seriously? 

Simple. Because enterprises deal with all kinds of sensitive and confidential data and it is your responsibility as a data collector to secure it in the best way possible. Now, let’s get to the detailing. 

Data is an asset: You are the sole owner of any information regarding your business. Most of them include 

• product or services offered,
• business plans,
• financial plans,
• information about buyers.

A lot of these data are used for business improvement, risk mitigation, and revenue optimization. So the fact that data can generate benefits makes it an asset. It is your responsibility to keep it secure and confidential. 

Necessary for business reputation: The end goal of any business is to provide goods or services to others. Even while buying a small item requires financial details and your clients trust you with their sensitive information.

Though no business would intentionally abuse client data, accidental security breaches can put more than just money at stake. It takes years to build trust and reputation around business and seconds to destroy. 

Moving on to our next concern. 

What are the common types of security threats? 

Several types of threats are constantly on high alert. Your goal as an enterprise should be able to monitor and respond instantly to them so no harm or foul is being played. 

Let’s quickly go through the most common types of security threats and how you can mitigate those risks. 

1. Backdoor attack: Many a time, programmers leave codes in the open (not on purpose though!) that lures hackers into accessing and exploiting a network completely. This is known as a backdoor attack.

Therefore, always make sure that you are not at the receiving end and that no platform-as-a-service or software-as-a-service suppliers are affected.

2. Denial of Service (DoS) Attack: In this type of attack, a hacker will traffic your network with unhealthy amounts of service requests or send information that will trigger a crash.

While a weak DoS attack can be stopped by blocking the attacker’s IP address, the complicated ones include numerous IP addresses, therefore they are difficult to hold. But today, there are solutions available that decrease the effects of such attacks. 

3. Direct Access Attack: When the physical assets in your organization are compromised, it calls for a direct access attack. A fraudster can break into your office and steal laptops, hard drives and flash drives. 

A good way to avoid such a catastrophe is through information encryption and providing security inducing employee training. 

4. Ransomware Attack: Creating quite a stir these days, a ransomware attack happens when a hacker gains access to your computer network and encrypts your valuable data without leaving a trace. You are then demanded a hefty ransom to regain access to your data.

The majority of intruders sneak into systems through viruses and worms. Advice your employees not to open suspicious linkings or unknown attachments. 

How can businesses provide data security to clients? 

Here are a few preventive measures for excellent data security. 

Data backup: Data backup is the process of copying, reorganizing and storing data in a cloud or a dedicated server or using any physical data storage device. This way even if your data is lost in a security breach, you would know where to retrieve it from. 

Data recovery: If your business is suffering from corrupt partitions or overwritten data, simply put a data recovery plan to action. 

Firewalls: Firewall monitors traffic based on fixed security rules. It is practically the barrier between your company and the Internet. 

Conclusion

Data is an important corporate asset and the loss of it can lead to direct financial losses or monetary judgements. As a big enterprise, it can cost customers fleeing to competitors and worse yet, a drop in investor’s confidence.