Potential business data assets in a corporation are typically stored in various resources including network, email, server, software, and browser. An organization, therefore, needs to protect all the information owned and stored on each of these resources to prevent information security breaches. The security measures should ensure keeping all the unauthorized individuals out of the system. Any data that's considered as an intellectual asset of the company must stay behind a strong security system. The key is to keep up with the privacy and integrity of data by focusing on the information safety, relevant classification, and confidentiality.
The dedicated teams must ensure classifying and categorizing data based on its usage and intended users. For instance, some data is personal and confidential while other is intended for public usage. Other than the enterprise-level organizations, companies of all sizes and from all industries are now hit by infosec breaches and cybersecurity threats. It is especially a very crucial time for midmarket companies to up their protection game and analyze the risk through proper risk management processes to secure the organization and its vital asset base.
Information Security Breaches – A Growing Threat
According to a report released by McAfee, the estimated loss to cybercrime per year to the global economy falls between $400 and $575 billion. The risk associated with a security breach has never been as high as it is today. With the growing number of incidents, it is imperative for businesses of all sizes to strengthen their underlying security mechanism. With the upgrade in the modern security system, the hackers are evolving too. And today, they are using all the available brackets to gain unauthorized access to applications, data, networks services, and other crucial devices to get control of the vital asset base and threaten the company.
The risk further increases if the organization fails to set up reliable security policies, systems and/or procedures. The infosec team is responsible for monitoring, detecting, identifying, and mitigating the risk of breach by implementing hardware and software-based protection measures. If a violation, abnormality, or intrusion is detected, these systems must not only issue a notification but also respond to the nefarious activities right away.
The Role of Information Security Training
According to a reported survey, cybersecurity is still very much a challenge for organizations around the world. The three most prominent factors highlighted by the respondents for the failure of security systems include:
- Failure to update cybersecurity (indicating more focus on physical security measures only)
- Obsolete and old systems, networking tools, and equipment
- Lack of staff capabilities to implement strong data security procedures and policies
If you are looking for a single-most, reliable solution to these problems mentioned above, it is 'information security training and certification such as Enterprise Security Fundamentals and Planning Security Incident Response. With training, you do not only improve your staff's capabilities to implement a stronger, more relevant, and highly upgraded data protection system, but also reduce the risk associated with the other two points. When staff is trained with practical skills and more knowledge about infosec breaches and ways to prevent them, they are in a better position to make more informed decisions about the business, especially with regards to data security. They can convince the authorities to make smart investments in better and upgraded systems and equipment and also highlight the importance of implementing standards for data asset protection. Considering data security training for the staff is a one-off cost for the organization that can help gain amazing benefits out of it in the long run. You can expect your trained team to set the following strategies to protect the enterprise's vital asset base from infosec breaches:
Malware Blocking
Malware infections can cause serious damage to business data. The first step should be to keep your information intact and secure from malware infections. This is a very common method for hackers to compromise your data integrity. Protect end-user machines and servers by constantly scanning and monitoring to detect for malware. In case of an abnormal activity - from end-user activity or a webpage - the system admin should instantly inform the infosec team for a prompt and relevant response.
Restricted Access to Network and Server
Server systems should be locked for common access for all the unauthorized parties. In case a person wishes to access the server, he or she must require prior permission and a valid reason for admission. A server system is a data warehouse. This is where a business is most vulnerable at when it comes to data assets. The system needs to be restricted for access to keep all the sensitive and crucial information of the company locked.
Network Protection
There are different types of network categories such as Wi-Fi, LAN, Intranet, etc. These are the channels through which the information transmits. Thus, it is essential to install a firewall system to protect these networking channels. Additionally, a robust encryption mechanism is also essential to improve communication privacy between both protected and unprotected networks. The teams must also monitor and detect all types of e-data entering and exiting the network. This will highlight unusual activities and warn beforehand if there's a risk of security breach.
Data Sharing
Even data that has been classified suitable for sharing needs to be restricted to the subset of users who need to access it. It shouldn't be available for all types of users. Therefore, it is important for the team to store data for sharing in a way that does not allow access to all users.
Conclusion
As the threat for infosec breathes continue to prevail, so must the capacity to defeat and outwit those who are seeking to cause you harm. With training, you can prepare your team to figure out all the deficiencies present in your system to focus on areas that need the most attention.
Contact our information security experts now and learn your options!