Triggered by Hacking Incidents? Here’s How Data Security Works for You

By Tom

 

Security and privacy are the most crucial part of storing information or any type of data. There might be threats to your personal information, such as hacking. It is one of the most common problems which security is keeping an eye on. This problem affects the system wherein they can manipulate the accounts and get into every detail on your system. Hacking is a serious digital problem which most of the corporations deal with.

 

What do you need to know about hacking and hackers?

Hacking deals with the activities which work on compromising digital equipment, like computers, tablets, smartphones, or even various networks. Technically, hacking is not considered a malicious activity. But today, most of the instances associated with hacking turn out to be unlawful activities. Some of the roost causes for hacking are financial interest, protests, the gathering of information, or just for fun.

Hackers also use psychology techniques such as when the user clicks a malicious attachment; it will then redirect them to the user’s personal information. This trick is known as social engineering. Furthermore, there are other reasons why hackers do such activities.

• Defrauding banking systems
• Vandalizing the account or website of an individual to ruin one’s reputation
• Stealing of information from a competitor’s company to gain market advantage
• Creating barriers and anomalies against another country

There is also another type of hackers who mainly focus on political issues. These hackers deal with public attention by gaining unacceptable attention on the main subject. It is usually done by exposing sensitive information to the public. Moreover, you can secure your accounts or information to prevent hackers from emerging right into you. There is a way on how you can protect your data from hacking. And this is where data security comes in.

 

How does data security work?

Data security is the method of protecting files, databases, and system accounts of a network. This is done by using set of controls, applications, and techniques which determines the significant importance of various datasets, sensitivity, regulatory requirements and applying those corresponding protections to secure their resources.

It works on the protective digital privacy measures to prevent unauthorized access to operating in your computers, websites, and databases. It also secures your information from data corruption. Data security is an important element of IT for various organizations.

 

The Fundamental Elements of Data Security

Data security has its core elements, which are the basis for why data security is essential to almost all of the data systems.

• Confidentiality. It ensures that the data are privately accessed by authorized personnel.
• Integrity. The data must be reliable and accurate.
• Availability. Information should be available and accessible for business purposes.

For your data security to operate properly, you should have the following considerations:

• You should where are your sensitive data are stored. In this way, you can protect and set data security in those specific areas.
• You should know the persons who have access to your data system. It is the essential part of data security since it can protect your website from data abuse or misuse.
• Perform regular monitoring and alerts to detect unusual files and activities before it’s too late to take action.

 

What are the types of Data Security Measures?

Data security helps in maintaining and protecting the privacy of the data system. Moreover, it has many types for various purposes and specialties. Data security is known as information security.

 

Data Backup

It is a process of data security wherein you copy or archive files to restore the data in case of loss or damage. It is the second level of storing data for information protection.

 

Firewalls

The Firewall is a network security equipment used for monitoring incoming and outgoing network traffics. Its main goal is to make a hurdle between the authorized and unauthorized external networks to prevent unusual access.

 

Data Encryption

It enables encryption and decryption of data flow during transferring and storing files. The encryptions are enabled on the content of the data, file, and application.

 

Strong Passwords

If you want to protect your databases from hacking, you should use strong passwords. Never use simple and common passwords such as birthdays, mobile numbers, and the likes.

 

Antivirus Software

It is a program that helps computing devices and other equipment to prevent computer viruses from affecting their performance. Antivirus software scans every file coming from the Internet to protect your system from damage.

 

Computer Security

Usually, computer security protects the computer system from hackers, unauthorized access, and thieves. If you want to intensify your computer security, you can take more security systems to protect your data.

 

Updating of Operating System and Security Patch

When you update your computer’s operating system regularly, your security patches are updated as well to its latest version. It can ensure the protection of your computer from viruses and cyber threats.

 

Digital Signature

It is a technique that you can use to ensure the credibility and authenticity of digital messages like emails. A digital signature verifies the content of digital messages to ensure data security. It also has encryption that ensure that the content of the message is not altered or falsified.

 

Orient Your Employees

Together with these innovative techniques, it is important to equip your employees with the right knowledge on how to manage data security. Every department in your company should have training programs. This is to empower their skills to deal with unexpected occurrences such as hacking or system breakdown.

 

Careful Email and Website Usage

As a user, you should be very observant and keen on everything that you see on the Internet. You should think twice or even better ignore malicious attachments. Untrusted links might lead you to vulnerable sites that might get your sensitive information.

 

Data Masking

This type of data security measure hides the original information with the modified data. It is a technique wherein you interchange some of the data’s characters to enable the confidentiality of the content.

These are some of the data security measures that you can use to ensure the privacy of your data. It helps you to get rid of unwanted sources from damaging your system. Thus, you should be aware that there are many forms of malicious software that might damage your computer in just one click. So better be ready and knowledgeable about it.

 

What are the major risks of Data Security in the Business World?

Data security measures are designed to counter-attack the risks for data protection. Most of the time, the business sector is in deep danger when it comes to data security. Corporations ensure that their databases are well-secured from anonymous access from unauthorized personnel. Moreover, here are some of the major data security risks that every business owner should take note of.

When employees do not have efficient skills in protecting data, the company is vulnerable to cyber threats. Data security should not be mainly under the IT department, but in the company as a whole. The lack of security and skills makes a company an easy target for hacking. To avoid this from happening, mandatory training can be implemented for all employees to equip them with proper data security skills.

Another thing is the fax machine. Fax machines are commonly used to send and receive faxes and function as a printer, scanners, etc. There are many sectors using fax machines such as the government, hospitals, and schools every day. Even though we are now in modern society, fax machines are still dependent on the physical equipment to transfer sensitive information.

When a fax machine is in trouble due to human error, it needs physical maintenance. In larger companies, they are used to one main fax machine to send or receive important information. The downside for having a single machine is that sensitive information is out in the open. It is not impossible to happen that one or more corporations can exchange data via fax.

The solution to this dilemma is cloud faxing. When you use a fax online, you can ensure that you are faxing your data to the exact and direct recipient. It minimizes the risk of spreading the information to someone not entrusted to receive the data. Cloud fax solutions can also boost security, which can maintain HIPAA compliance.

Electronic mails, commonly known as emails, are one of the most common forms of sending and receiving messages in the corporate world. Moreover, despite its formality, there are still lapses about its data security. Emails are a cheap and convenient form of transmitting messages. However, emails are not that secured. Emails can be received by anyone who can access the account and can be readily open once received.

Email encryption is one of the main solutions to enable data security. Encryption shuffle the email content, and only the recipient can unlock it down. It can be possible for servers, networks, and personal messages. However, it can’t ensure the recipients of the email. There might be a hundred from your contacts, and the email might still be opened by someone who has access to that specific account.

 

What is a data breach?

The data breach is a security occurrence where an unauthorized individual accesses the information. These incidents can affect businesses and individuals negatively. They can ruin the reputation of a person or organization, which might take time to regain.

There are many data breaches reported nowadays. It is not surprising to know that because of the modern technology that we have today. Many information is now transferring to the digital world. As a result, increased cyber attacks are common and quite expensive.

 

How does data breach occur?

Every day, more and more organizations are experiencing a data breach. It is a severe burden for business owners since it affects their transactions and costumers as well. To avoid being on the headline with other screaming organizations, you must understand the common reasons why data breach happens.

• Weak security and stolen identifications. Hacking is the most popular form of a data breach. It is usually because of the weak or lost passcodes which the hacker uses to get through the account. To prevent this, use complex passcodes and never share it with anyone.
• Applications weaknesses. Hackers enjoy lurking on application software that is poorly built. It is easier for them to create holes and damages on the site because of its lack of security. You should keep your applications updated and fully patched.
• Malicious software. These software are created, which can direct you to a website and gather your sensitive information. This is the opportunity for them to hack your system. Therefore, you must be aware of the websites that you access. Do not open emails that are leery and might be spreading malware.
• Social engineering. Hackers use psychology techniques to persuade online users. In this manner, they will be able to direct the user’s account while having the details through persuasion. To avoid it, do not be amazed by a million-dollar offer from someone you’ve never met before. Moreover, do not send emails or personal information, requiring you to have the claim.
• Avoid having too much permission. Too much complex permissions attract hackers. You should know those authorized persons who can only access your system. Just keep it simple. Those whom you have transactions with are just solely you are going to give information to.
• Another reason why data breach occurs is the personnel inside the company itself. Some individuals might be unconscious, permitting the wrong persons. They might copy, change, or steal it. The best thing to do is to know whom you are transacting with. When you feel that there is something not right, you should act accordingly to prevent a data breach.
• Hackers do not just sit back behind their computers. They can also attack you physically. Having well-secured facilities can prevent you from physical harm against hackers. If you notice something suspicious around your area, you should immediately report it.
• User errors are one of the passageways for the hackers to get into your system. You should assign skilled professionals to manage sensitive and relative data system. In this way, you can minimize the risk of having a data breach. You can move employees causing errors to designations where they are less likely to cause a data breach.

Hackers have different ways on how they can get right into you. You must be vigilant and fully aware of what is happening around you. Prevention is better than cure. It might be an old saying, but it works all the time. You should be wiser enough to think over the possibilities of what the hackers can do.

 

What is Data Security Management?

The effective management of the data system of an organization ensures the confidentiality and protection of the data. It prevents the access of unauthorized users to avoid data corruption. Data security management involves planning, implementation, validation, and updating of the plan’s contents.

 

Tips for Data Security Management

It seems like no organizations are longer safe against a data breach. Even the largest corporations are once victims of massive data breaches. In the modern society that we live in today, cyber threats are everywhere. Data security management is an essential factor in organizational development.

Here are some of the data security management tips that you can use in your company:

• Ensure that you equip your workforce the knowledge about data security management. They must know how to manage cyberattacks to protect your data system.
• Have the best cyber security solutions. Invest in something which can provide your company with the security that you need. You can also have antivirus software on all of your devices that are connected to a reliable network. To detect viruses or malware, you should have regular scanning to remove hostile computer viruses.
• Always have a Plan B. When there is a data breach, you must have a backup copy of everything. You can do it both onsite and offsite locations. Just like what they say, prepare for the worst thing to happen and be ready for that.
• Hire data security professional. If you are eager to strengthen your data security, it is better if you have a data security professional in your company. You can ensure the safety of the databases with the help of these professionals.
• If you will allow your employees to use their devices inside the company, make sure that they follow the same protocol as to what the company assets have. It is to prevent the vulnerability of the databases to cyberattacks.

Data security starts within the smallest asset of the company, which are the employees. Proper usage and storing of data can be an excellent way to prevent data breaches. Various data security methods can also help in maintaining the privacy of your data. Hence, you should be vigilant in prioritizing data security management.

 

Hackers are everywhere, unseen, and waiting for the next vulnerable target. Do not let yourself and your company be one of the screaming voices out there suffering from data breaches and cyberattacks. Always be in your senses to determine the possible harm around you.