3 Ways to Prevent a Data Breach from Becoming an Ordeal
It’s easy to think of a data breach as a one-time event, putting the affected company at risk for a workday and causing residual headaches for maybe a week. But when IT systems aren’t regularly audited for security and layered stopgaps aren’t put in place to mitigate the damage, even significant multinational agencies like Equifax can remain vulnerable for months. How can you make sure you’re not caught sleeping at the wheel when the time comes to put your data security to action?
1. Audit Early, Audit Often
According to a study by Syncsort, nearly two-thirds of companies in the study perform security audits on their systems. Yet digging deeper, they discovered that for those who perform audits, the most common schedule was annual (39%), and another 10% audit every 2 years or more. Considering how sophisticated cyber-criminals have become and how frequent security events like Equifax seem to happen, this is unacceptable. An outdated system or plan removes any challenge hackers may face. And when it can take up to a year for an organization to act on their outdated infrastructure, the consequences of that inaction could multiply exponentially.
2. Don’t Stop at One
The most secure physical structures don’t rely on one layer on integrity. Make sure the structural integrity of your less tangible data and technology stays strong with multiple layers of resilience. Your multi-faced approach should address the vulnerabilities and strengths of the following areas:
- Port/IP Address
- Exit Point
- File Security
- Field Security
- Command Control
- Object Authority
That’s right: the integrity of your data depends on all of these layers, with even one neglected layer potentially being the only open door malicious actors need to capture sensitive information.
3. Communication is Key
In the unfortunate event that your organization suffers a security breach, there’s no need to exacerbate the issue by hesitating to inform the public. Any security event will understandably test the public trust, but you could suffer even more PR damage by withholding significant news for any amount of time. Acting fast isn’t just for IT administrators. Executive staff, retained PR agencies and any other public-facing entities in your organizations must stay on the ball to deliver the “Who, What, Why, Where and When” people need to know.
Download our Whitepaper today and discover the causes and effects of data breaches.