Data is the lifeblood of any company, allowing them to function effectively and profitably. However, companies must take into consideration the need to have access to and plentiful data with the requirement to keep the customer’s data safe and secure. The GDPR in Europe and California’s CCPA are driving this point as well as long-standing laws like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and Securities and Exchange Commission rules that protect shareholders’ financial data and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
To protect your data the first step is to record every single piece of data you have and then secure it. This involves identifying, categorizing and determining the access levels for data according to its sensitivity. It is vital to put in place guidelines to protect data whether it’s in transit or in rest. Using a solution to detect and monitor the activities of your files and detect anomalous patterns can you could try these out help you recognize suspicious activity quickly and identify and minimize vulnerabilities that could be a result of outdated or misconfigured software.
A comprehensive backup and recovery plan that includes physical storage media is vital. Last but not least it is vital to ensure that you have a solid system of security, ranging from background checks for potential hires and regular training for current employees, to terminating employees who no longer need access to vital systems. It’s also crucial to create an emergency plan for recovery in case of a natural disaster or a man-made one.