It is always true in almost all cases that the most pressing problem is data loss prevention in all business’s data. It is the most demanding aspect in all businesses of today as technology rises to its unprecedented heights since the birth of the internet. A lot of businesses have been penetrated by some unscrupulous individuals to the extent of stealing vital information of clients, business patents, company secrets, credit card information and many others. This kind of system hacked requires a lot of money, time and many other resources to prop up damage control, not to mention the resulting effects of breaking the trust of the business and the cost of redirecting resources for making sure it would not happen again!
As cyberattacks are becoming bolder and sophisticated by the days, ensuring the security of the business’s data is always paramount, where, as always hackers exploit security flaws. No organization is immune to data breaches and theft. In fact, according to a CDW research, 25% of organizations have experienced data loss in the past couple of years. As access to mobile computing grows exponentially, preventing data loss is an increasingly complex undertaking for every organization in every industry.
Here are some Data Loss Prevention Tips to keep organization and client’s information secure and safe.
Backup files regularly-
Backup simply means keeping a copy or copies of the original data no matter where they were stored, ideally in other physical media. As always, meticulous backup is a disciplinary undertaking and it is the only way possible to get around catastrophic data losses. Storing files in other media or in a different location in a computer other than the operating system is always not sufficient. Creating backup files regularly always makes the difference even if your backup is subjected to failure. Not a thing can replace backup to avert data loss and keeping away from costly recovery processes. It always makes a feeling of completeness of being able to retrieve and recover a file by possessing a backup of the file
Define Your Data-
The most important step in building an effectual data loss prevention plan is to concede that the threat is real. Defining all organization’s data for the sole purpose of preventing data losses, though seemingly arduous and always intimidating, must not be set aside. There are basic ingredients in defining data in an organization. Foremost to this is to differentiate between confidential documents (files containing members’ social security numbers) and the confidential information (members’ social security numbers). These are information infrastructure which are mainly the keys to success in data loss prevention.
Confidentiality in an organization generally, at the least, is the protection of simple data that which allow for fraudulent monetization of data such as, a client/person’s complete name, social security number, banking information, credit card number, addresses, driver's license number, as well as data protected by government regulations, and many other vital information.
Every business, every organization has had business-critical data that must be, as always be protected at all time. Determining it is a must to an organization and defining it should be weighed against these three standards, to wit;
Would the loss of this data really influence income and profitability?
Does the organization's administration need to be enlightened of a leak?
Will the organization's administration make a move if enlightened of a leak?
Case in point of business-critical data comprises of the next quarter's sales projection, product source code, and product pre-launch analysis and information.
Instances, like the single most significant revelation existing in an organization, can be effectively rectified by changing one’s own business process. Measure up an organization’s definition and obtain a clear-cut understanding with respect to the real risks.
Do not ever store data on the same drive with the operating system-
Storing data on the same drive with the operating system is the most and often common mistakes any business should avoid. Almost all word processors will likely store files in the My Documents folder which for any reason is the worst place to save. Whenever that operating system fails for any reason, it will most likely affect data in the drive and as always the only solution is to reformat the drive and then, again reinstalled the operating system. During that process, every single thing on that drive will be lost.
The most viable solution is to store data by installing another hard-drive internally or externally. Whichever, it is the most logical solution. Relatively, it is the cheapest way to solving the problem. Internal or external hard-drive will not be affected whenever the operating system of the computer fails or corrupted, and it can be readily installed or attached to another computer if there’s a need.
Installing a second hard-drive on your computer is a relatively low-cost way to take care of this problem. A second internal hard-drive will not be affected if the operating system is corrupted, and it can even be installed in another computer if you need to buy a new one; further, you'll be surprised at how easy they are to set up. Furthermore, most external hard-drives had added the benefit of one-touch backups.
Educating Staffs and Personnel in the Organization-
Create a standard policy. This policy should not be only empirical but should also be concise, directly dealing to which data is confidential, how it should be treated and how staffs and personnel should use mobile devices.
Once this policy is engaged in the organization, creates system of tasks to adequately answer any gaps that might be violated, i.e.
• Train staff and personnel on the policy standard
• Determine or straighten out point at issues that may have violated the policy that causes continuing occurrences
• Allow continuing, real-time among users
• Make security an ongoing priority.
Investing consistently and intelligently in a security and data loss prevention technology that is suited to a particular business will surely help in any organization. Consider dedicating resources to track and administer security point at issues. Making certain that these resources report to the proper stakeholder in the organization. Keeping this policy allows monitoring of security risks in real-time, thus staying the organization well-informed and involved data security.
Beware of User Error-
Oftentimes, users engineer own problems. Admit it or not, it is often the case. The most usual way users lose data is when editing documents and unintentionally deleted parts of it when the documents/files are saved. Except when features that would automatically store changes are enabled. However, there are safeguards in a word processor such as versioning and tracking changes that an organization should take advantage of.
Conclusion
Consequently, the organization performing regular audits should tighten up security complications before it arises. Eliminates problems in its infancy.
