Data is the lifeblood of any business, allowing businesses to function effectively and profitably. However, companies must balance the need for available and plentiful data with the need to keep customer data safe and secure. This is a challenge posed by the new and constantly evolving privacy regulations like California’s GDPR and Europe’s CCPA and old-fashioned laws such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Securities and Exchange Commission rules for protecting financial information of shareholders, as well as the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard for data about consumer payments.
To protect your data, the first step is to catalog every single piece of data you have and then secure it. This involves identifying and categorizing data according to its sensitivity level and determining access levels. It is also crucial to create a security policy that protects your data even when it’s in motion or in rest. Using a tool to detect and monitor file activities and identify anomalous patterns can help you recognize suspicious activity and quickly identify and eliminate vulnerabilities that could be a result of outdated or incorrectly configured software.
Then, a comprehensive plan for recovery and backup that includes physical storage media is vital. Not to be left out it is vital to ensure that you have a solid system of security, from background checks for employees who are seeking to be hired to periodic trainings for existing employees, to removing employees Check Out who no longer need access to critical systems. It’s also essential to develop a plan of recovery in the event of natural disasters or a man-made one.