Data loss happens when a company loses access to clusters of information for specific reasons. Data can be destroyed, deleted, corrupted, or rendered useless with intent or by accident during this event.
Data loss can also occur in physical storage setups or the cloud. It’s an incident that takes place when data is in transit or processed by a network.
It makes sense to safeguard the information that can keep your company running, even after losing some data. After all, data is invaluable. Having data loss prevention protocols in place is imperative Still, you can salvage your daily operations by knowing how to prevent data loss.
It doesn’t have to be challenging, especially since there are so many helpful tools. Below, we discuss a few ways to prevent data loss and some key data breach prevention tools.
Setup a Data Loss Prevention Strategy
Setting up a data loss prevention strategy means staying ahead of any possible event and following a specific plan to protect your data.
First, you must prioritize crucial data to be kept safe After that, categorize all data in the best way for your company. Once you know what data poses more risk, you can monitor and control access to it.
With a better grasp of your company’s critical data, you’ll realize the scope and the importance of data loss prevention. Make sure to set up proper protocols to access every essential bit of info. Keep your employees informed about these guidelines while making sure they stick to them for security.
Evaluate Third-Party Risks
For data loss prevention, third-party risks can represent an uphill battle in some companies. Your associates don’t necessarily take cybersecurity to the same level you do. While you can teach them how to prevent data loss, you must evaluate their security posture. Ask your security analysts to make sure all third parties interacting with your company are compliant with regulatory standards like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, or GDPR.
Identify Sensitive Data and Assets
As we mentioned previously, before you take any data breach prevention measures, you must thoroughly examine your data, regardless of company size.
You need to have a general overview of everything deemed sensitive and handle it under strict policies. Once your data is identified and properly categorized, it’s easier to backup and update regularly.
Monitor Network Access
If you’re wondering what can be done to prevent data breaches, having a complete outlook of your network traffic is an excellent start. It gives you more control over your security.
When conducting a data breach, most attackers usually follow up with reconnaissance raids. This is how they identify your defenses and decide their attack method. You can take preventive measures by using data leak solutions or applying security policies to grant specific access to certain data according to security clearances.
Endpoint Security
Endpoints are remote accesses used by business networks for official communications They have become instrumental in the last two years and thus became a source of concern for data loss prevention.
Endpoints are vulnerable because cyberactors can use them to introduce malware into a network. This is worrisome since many work positions remain remote as COVID-19 becomes a seasonal virus.
Firewalls and VPNs can prove some defense, but hackers can trick them. The best defense in this stance is education about phishing and social engineering attacks.
Encrypt Your Data
Encryption is one of the top data loss prevention measures. Most cybercriminals disregard encrypted data, mainly because it’s tough to crack. But some can find their way around it. You can choose to work with a symmetric key for your encryption or with a public key, but don’t make encryption your only means of protecting your data.
Authenticate Your Emails
Using email authentication protocols such as DMARC, DKIM, and SPF keeps you one step ahead in data loss prevention. Setting up these policies tells every ESP that your messages are sent from a verified source. Helping all your associates implement this policy lessens the risk of being affected by data loss trickery, such as spoofing or phishing. EasyDMARC can assist with our vast catalog of tools aimed at email security.
Evaluate Permissions and Access
Few things should be taken for granted when it comes to cybersecurity. Data access is maybe the most critical step for data loss prevention. All permissions to access your company’s data must be evaluated first.
Once you prioritize and categorize your critical data, only the most crucial team members should have access to it on a need-to-operate basis. That said, privileged access means nothing without other measures, such as strong passwords and multifactor authentication.
Monitor Vendor Security
If you’re monitoring your data traffic, one of the best ways to create data loss prevention awareness is by sharing your risk assessments with your business partners. This can encourage them to increase their security within their domains. Ensure your monitoring solutions offer security ratings to help you make your case.
Backup Your Data
One step in the right direction of data loss protection is to create backups of your company’s most critical data. Implement a programmed schedule to create your backups, and stick to it. Backup data can save you from ransomware attacks. Still, it’s best to store files in a different location, and use multiple security methods to get access to it.
Implement a Disaster Recovery Plan
A disaster recovery plan helps you define a set of instructions to respond to a massively disruptive event such as a cyber-attack, a natural disaster, or an outage. You can easily determine the course of action to follow in any adverse scenario. With data breach prevention, most DRPs are under lock and key in a physical space.
Disaster recovery plans should include:
- The recovery time objective
- The recovery point objective
- Hardware and software used to reinstate all operations
It also needs to define the people who act in case of a disruptive event and their role. It needs to state the sources used to recover all data and the procedures required according to the situation faced.
Final Thoughts
Data loss prevention is a challenge that every company needs to meet if they hope to keep their market share. A single measure in place can’t do much to protect your organization from data leaks.
You need to create a plan and stick to it. Information is vital when it comes to data breach prevention. Keeping track of your data is the safest measure. Ensure how it flows, who interacts with it, when it’s accessed, and who has access to it.
Remember: Cybercriminals are very skilled when it comes to avoiding control points. A strong password isn’t enough.
The best practices must include multi-factor authentication and security policies that make your email infrastructure strong, such as DMARC, DKIM, and SPF records. If you wish to learn more about security protocols, follow EasyDMARC on our social networks to get more updates.
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