To safeguard our data, it is important that fending off the outside security threats is only half of the battle. Although you may have the highest technology to combat cybersecurity but an employee or a vendor with the right permission or access can bypass all your security and implemented technology. As a business owner, you should take the necessary steps to mitigate or eliminate a leak or sabotage and ultimately a compromise.
In order to safe guard your data and save yourself from future security breach issues, there are four concept that every business owners or executive no matter how small should consider and implement:
Access Control
Access control is an essential element of security that determines who is allowed to access certain data and resources, and in what circumstances. Access control policies rely heavily on techniques like authentication and authorization, which allow organizations to explicitly verify both that users are who they say they are and that these users are granted the appropriate level of access based on context such as device, location, role, etc. Access control reduces the risk of data exfiltration by employees. Small businesses must evaluate their current internal access control model to ensure employees are not able to access and download data that is not relevant to their job role.
Least Privilege
The principle of least privilege goes hand in hand with access control and dictates giving a user only those privileges which are essential to perform its intended function. For example, a user account for the sole purpose of creating backups does not need to install software: hence, it has rights only to run backup and backup-related applications. Any other privileges, such as installing new software, are blocked. Users should only be granted essential privileges to complete their job role and nothing further.
Data Classification
Data classification is the process of organizing data by relevant categories so that it may be utilized and protected more efficiently. The classification process makes data easier to locate and retrieve. Data classification is critical when it comes to risk management, compliance, and data security. An organization cannot expect to institute access control and least privilege policies effectively if their trove of data is not properly classified. Data classification is an essential process for businesses to consider to adequately manage and safeguard the data they possess.
Dark Web Monitoring
Many organizations find themselves in a scenario, with hackers or malicious employees looking to sell or expose their organization’s data on the dark web for financial or personal gain. This is where a dark web monitoring tool or program plays a significant role. Although the damage is already done by the that point data appears on the dark web, a dark web monitoring program will enable organizations to respond rapidly to the incident. Management may be able to track down a malicious employee and quickly sever what access they may still have, minimizing further damage and accelerating the damage control measures that must be taken to address a data breach. Without such a program in place, management might go days, weeks, or even months before they are made aware of the data breach they have suffered.
For assistance with identifying these risks and implementing policies, processes, and procedures to mitigate them, please do not hesitate to contact CEO Computers 818-501-2281 or info@ceocomputers.com
