Since 2013, about 3,809,448 data records have been stolen through data breaches daily. That makes it 158,727 every hour, 2,645 every minute, and 44 records every second. Every second! Can you comprehend the scale of the threat that your firm's data is in right now? It's massive and growing with every passing day. Let's take a look at the issues related to data security.
What is data security?
Data security is the protective measure for securing data from unapproved access. It also refers to data protection from any kind of data corruption. Data security has become an essential part of every company of every size and industry. Data security solutions include data encryption, tokenization, and other protective measures. Other terms that explain the phenomena are information security, computer security or system data security
Some of the most notorious victims of data breaches are the US Federal government, millions of South African nationals, millions of Uber users, and Britain's national health services. According to a public tracking site for data breaches Breach Level Index, almost 9,198,580,293 records have been lost since 2013. These are not just the records that have been stolen but also the ones that got lost due to some kind of carelessness. This concludes that you should just not secure your data from breaches but also the accidental loss that can happen from any employee.
Now is the time to invest in your firm's security if you want to avoid being just another name in the next victim's list.
WHY IS INFORMATION SECURITY IMPORTANT?
There is no doubt data is the most valuable asset of a firm. Even though firms have a legal obligation to keep their customer's data safe, but regardless of that, losing data would destroy much more than just the legal fine or the compensation they would have to pay. As every firm's reliance on computers is getting higher and higher, securing data is getting more challenging than ever. In earlier times, securing your data was as simple as storing it at a remote place and guarding it vigilantly. But now you have to jump through a lot of hoops to do so. By keeping the data safe firms can:
- Keep their sensitive data out of the hands of their competitors
- Keep their integrity. As customers are getting more aware of their data privacy.
- Access their data easily whenever and wherever they need.
What are the data security challenges
To understand the impact and importance of data security, we will have to look at challenges and their solutions to survive in this century.
The data growth is exponential
This decade is of data growth. It is growing at the rate at which it has never before. According to Forbes, 1.7 megabytes of new data is being created every second. This data growth has made data security very complicated. Now the firms just don't have to protect their own sensitive data but also data about their customers as well.
This overwhelming increase in the data and not much focus on data security by the top management has made the job of cybersecurity teams very difficult. The regulations about customer's data privacy have shifted the concentration of the management a little bit towards the issue.
To overcome this challenge, firms need to invest in proper equipment such as data archiving, backup, and redundant infrastructure and get highly skilled professionals in their teams. Regular renewal of the certifications of these team members is also important, so they are up to the challenge they are facing. An excellent option would be to train your employees online through Cisa online classes, ceh certification online training, and information security training
Cost of Maintaining Data Privacy
The cost of keeping your data secure is considerable. You have to make a cybersecurity department, hire people, and create a vigilant environment to minimize human error. All of these measures cost firm money. But the firm's management needs to understand that in case of a data breach, the financial loss will be much higher. The loss could be due to damaged reputation and loss of revenues due to fines and legal penalties, or ransome you would have to pay in case of a ransom attack. According to IBM, the average cost of a data breach is 3.9million dollars globally.
An Advanced Technology spectrum – IoT and Mobile devices
According to security boulevard, around 76 % of security specialists say that IoT devices put them at cybersecurity risks. Increasing the use of Mobile and IoT devices has broadened the scope of security threats. Now Security teams have to take the measures that cover all the security measures suitable for every security vulnerability.
Human Errors
Some security experts say that human error is the most challenging part of maintaining data security. Unaware and careless employees can easily become a victim of phishing scams, use weak passwords, and accidentally delete data.
To overcome this problem, security firms need to encourage a vigilant environment. Regular training sessions on good security habits should be conducted. Clear and vigilant policies should be established by the management to be followed by the employees.
The time for taking action for better security has arrived not just to survive but thrive in your industry.
Summary
- Data security is the protective measure for securing data from unapproved access.
- Data is the most valuable asset of a firm.
- This decade is of data growth.
- Now the firms just don't have to protect their own sensitive data but also data about their customers as well.
- Increasing the use of Mobile and IoT devices has broadened the scope of security threats.
- The cost of keeping your data secure is considerable.
- Some security experts say that human error is the most challenging part of maintaining data security
- Clear and vigilant policies should be established by the management to be followed by the employees