Introduction
In this digitally hyperconnected world that we are breathing in today, almost everything is vulnerable. Sometimes, even a random single click can get your smartest of infrastructures hacked. Malicious cyber-attacks can pose serious threats to organizations in unimaginable ways.
This world is packed with people of different mindsets. While cybersecurity professionals and industry leaders are busy building the safest landscape possible for businesses across the world, hackers and cybercriminals too are working day and night to understand reverse engineering and how to get into these intact virtual boundaries. A single crevice in the boundary wall can make hackers happy! But, that’s where corporate data security takes the center stage.
Robust security strategies such as the implementation of effective tools and technologies, mobile device management, kiosk lockdown software are tirelessly helping businesses to thrive and survive in this fragile framework.
Let’s understand it from today’s perspective.
Corporate Data Security Today
This era is the era of smart devices and technologies that are equally capable, even when used remotely. With the Covid-19 hitting the globe, remote work culture gained popularity. This “new normal” remote way to work cost a fortune to many tech companies as the hackers became more active than ever.
Not only big businesses but small and mid-sized companies too got caught up in this cyber wreath. Their websites were hacked, sensitive corporate and employee data were compromised, and the companies had to bear the losses. Unfortunately, some losses were irreversible and due to it, many businesses collapsed, too.
In short, cyber crimes are potentially hazardous, frequently more than ever, and are real!
What is Corporate Data Security?
Protecting data in today’s corporate scenario is a mandate. Corporate data security emphasizes that the data should be digitally protected, secure, confidential, integrated, and timely accessible to those who really require it.
Businesses worldwide have deployed various data security models based on specific risks and vulnerabilities. One such model is the CIA triad, which is an acronym for Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. The data should be confidential to authorized personnel, should be reliable and updated, and available on time to fulfill business needs and goals.
Corporates across the globe have understood the importance of structuring their data security efforts. The more the security efforts are robust, there will be fewer chances of data breaches and cyber assaults.
Why is Corporate Data Security Essential for Businesses?
Any kind of security comes from trust and years of consistent business practices. In short, “Trust is a good business practice.” When customers provide their sensitive information including their full names, addresses, date of birth, their official details, email addresses, and other relevant information, they assume and expect that their data will be safe and secure.
The leakage of sensitive personal data, intellectual property theft, database corruption are some of the major security incidents that can turn your customers against your business. These risks pose serious trust issues and can ruin your image.
If as a business, you can’t build this basic trust across your consumers that their data is absolutely safe and protected, you will eventually lose them and there will be fewer chances of getting new ones too. Therefore trustworthiness is important in this risky world.
Major Risks and Challenges to Corporate Data Security
The panoramic corporate presence across the globe sustains while daily fighting with cyberattacks, and security incidents. In this data-driven world, risks associated with data pose major challenges to businesses worldwide.
Let’s take a quick look.
- Inadequate Data Backup and Recovery
Cybercriminals keep looking for loopholes in the business infrastructures. They can play with your critical corporate data and hamper it in irreparable ways. In absence of backup, it becomes really tough for the organizations to roll back to business as usual.
- Unmanaged endpoints and networks
In absence of a secure and well-planned device and endpoint management solution or strategy, cybercriminals can easily access data and can pose serious harm to your business. They can even lock your devices for money, and damage your content.
- Identity Theft
Cybercriminals can extract your employees’ personal data and can impersonate them to perform criminal activities like applying for fake loans.
- Growing COD and BYOD Trend
More the devices, the more the number of hackers working on those to get unauthorized access. Today, corporate-owned devices (COD) or employee-owned personal devices (BYOD-Bring Your Own Device) are widely scattered across geographies. Most of the remote workforce does not know the relevance of data security and threats associated with it. So, they access sensitive data from unknown networks like while being seated in a cafe or while traveling. Hackers keep an eye on such careless activities, carefully.
- Inadequate Information Security Awareness
Phishing poses a robust threat to any business. Clicking on such malicious links can result in your devices being hacked. Hackers sometimes erase the data, take your personal information, and ask for money in return. They create a trap and your employees fall into such traps in absence of improper information security awareness.
- Ransomware attacks
Employees often fall prey to ransomware and malware attacks due to malicious downloads and clicking on unsafe links. The hackers unethically encrypt the whole system and ask for ransom in return.
Ways to Secure Corporate Data
Data is valuable because of the insight and knowledge that can be extracted from it. Proactive security measures can help safeguard and maintain the credibility and integrity of your businesses.
Let’s take a quick look at several ways to secure your essential corporate data.
- Data Encryption
Today, data encryption is a game-changer. In case your data falls into wrong hands, if encrypted, it won’t make sense to those who have accessed it illegally. As a business, make sure your corporate data is encrypted and protected.
- Secure servers and databases
As a business owner, corporate data is your asset. Make sure your servers and databases are secure. It’s crucial to safeguard your valuable assets from intruders by implementing strict policies and regulations.
- Access Management and Control
It’s important to create a secure IT atmosphere by restricting access to your business administrative accounts, servers, and databases to those who really require it, and that too, it should be updated regularly. These important assets should be password-protected, and should be strictly monitored.
- Data backup and recovery
Maintaining backups and recovery options is a must to ensure smoother operations. On top of that, there should be controls to monitor these backups as well.
- Educating Employees
Every business should teach “Security-First” to their employees, who majorly work remote these days. The use of personal computers, laptops, phones, tabs has revolutionized the ways of work. This poses a threat to sensitive corporate data as cybercriminals keep looking for loopholes that are often overlooked by untrained and ignorant employees. Businesses should ensure that their employees are aware of data security practices, phishing scams, spam emails, and malicious links. Password hygiene should be followed properly.
- MDM solutions for complete network and endpoint security
Many ambitious companies and corporate houses across the globe are adopting secure mobile device management policies and kiosk lockdown software to ensure their devices and sensitive corporate data are in safe hands. Kiosk lockdown software is especially a boon to the corporate world. It can turn any device into a kiosk, thus restricting the other unnecessary features that are otherwise not important for work. Such kiosk software solutions are easy to use, are compatible across diverse OS platforms and networks; and thus, are gaining popularity with the emerging BYO and COD trends.
Closing Lines
Businesses today are struggling with security breaches and incidents now and then. To be honest and upfront, protecting and securing your corporate data is not as easy as it sounds. But that is not impossible. With effective corporate data security strategies, businesses can outstretch their wings in the huge cyberspace despite the risks and challenges.
Go ahead and build your cybersecurity strategy for 2022.