Every day, we hear more and more companies succumbing to security breaches. All such attacks highlight the importance of data security and privacy in present times. A lack of security strategies and unawareness can threaten the overall well-being of any business’s data. Employee and financial records, and valuable trade secrets can all be susceptible to a breach.
When the world first started using social media, nobody understood its implications. Going online was also made easy by Spectrum in newly launched Spectrum promotions services and other mainstream ISPs. One of the major changes social media brought was the introduction of surveillance capitalism. As more and more data gets generated, the number of people interested in it also increases. So, securing your data for the sake of privacy became more important.
What Is Data Privacy?
In today’s world, ignoring data privacy can be the equivalent of a drowning man refusing a lifeboat. But before we talk about how to make your data secure, we need to know what data privacy means. Data or Information Privacy refers to the protection of your data from unauthorized access. It protects data from external hackers and provides security against potential breaches.
How to Improve Data Privacy?
There isn’t a one-shoe-fits-all how-to guide for data privacy. Many times, it depends upon the scale of your operation and the sensitivity of the information. Although many major corporations are on a hunt for your data, there are ways that you can limit what you share.
Make Data-Centric Security Effort
Many times, companies focus on the perimeter of their network to secure their data. They can spend a lot of the budget on firewall technology. While this may help, it is not a foolproof option. You should understand that data itself is much more important than the network around it. So, you should focus your security efforts on reinforcing data protection.
There are many (and easy) ways to circumvent a firewall. Hackers can use social engineering to get into your system via your employees or suppliers. If you have a strong firewall and a non-encrypted data bank, you’re putting all your eggs in the wrong basket.
Avoid Free Services
The common phrase “if it’s free, you’re the product” is true. The world didn’t understand the meaning of this phrase until recently. Surveillance capitalism is distinctly designed to collect and use data for profits. So, many free programs are created for the sole purpose of collecting data. You should remember that if it is too good to be true, it probably is.
Free software, products, or unbelievably good promotions are all just ways to lure you in. You might find a pop-up form on blogs that asks for your email IDs. So, you should steer clear of such marketing gimmicks if you want to safeguard your information.
Encrypt All Devices
Many people use personal devices to access company data. It isn’t an industry best practice, but it is almost impossible to stop from happening. You can’t blame your employees either as mobile phones are more convenient and always handy. With so many devices linked to your network, the risk of an attack can be high. Encrypting all your devices can be the only way to ensure your data is safe even when migrating.
Automate Processes
If there is a data breach, the damage can be irreparable. So, if you think the cost for maintaining privacy issues at an enterprise level is high, think again. The cost of a data breach can hit you unexpectedly. Moreover, the damage to your company’s reputation could be irreversible. So, you should grab the bull by its horns and invest in automating your processes.
System automation can help you in more ways than one. They reduce human interference that can lead to fewer errors and points of friction. Moreover, you get more improved governance and can reduce the number of data silos.
Get Rid of Old Data
Companies in healthcare or finance can deal with sensitive data daily. So, chances are that they produce tons of redundant data that is no longer beneficial for them. Sometimes employees can stash this data somewhere and forget about it. It can then be easier for hackers to tap into at a later date. So, it is vital that your company has a process for shredding and deleting old data.
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