{"id":28045,"date":"2022-06-09T14:37:41","date_gmt":"2022-06-09T14:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/easydmarc.com\/blog\/?p=28045"},"modified":"2023-08-10T12:42:35","modified_gmt":"2023-08-10T12:42:35","slug":"how-to-prevent-data-leaks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/easydmarc.com\/blog\/how-to-prevent-data-leaks\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prevent Data Leaks?"},"content":{"rendered":"

There\u2019s no denying that data leakage is a serious menace in the cyber world. With remote work<\/a> being part of our work ethics now, the likelihood of a data leak has increased exponentially. The <\/span>importance of data loss prevention<\/span><\/a> is closely linked to data leak prevention. While the cyberworld is full of unexpected data leak statistics, the fact remains that most data leaks are due to human error.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Target data breach is one of the most significant security breaches in human history, costing the company over $90 million. However, several data leak occurrences have since been recorded. Among the most recent is the <\/span>Cash App data breach<\/span><\/a> in December 2021.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Block reported that the breach involved a former employee who downloaded reports from Cash App containing sensitive information, such as customers\u2019 names, stock trading activity, brokerage account numbers, and other data. This is one of the reasons why policies should be in place to remove employees\u2019 access after termination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Because data leaks can lead to data breaches, organizations must implement <\/span>ways to prevent data loss<\/span><\/a>. Any business using the internet, SaaS, or cloud-based solutions has a high data leak exposure rate.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When dealing with data leakage, prevention is the best strategy. Even with the best data breach plan, no one wants to deal with the expensive after-effects. This article discusses some proven <\/span>data leak prevention<\/b> strategies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Monitor Third-Party Risk<\/b><\/h2>\n

You might have robust data leak protection, but your vendors don’t necessarily take cybersecurity as seriously as you do. It\u2019s essential to monitor the security level of third parties to ensure they\u2019re not at risk of suffering data leakage. A third-party risk assessment plan is a common technique that ensures your vendors conform to regulatory standards, such as GDPR, PCI-DSS, or HIPAA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations should compile risk questionnaires with relevant questions from existing frameworks. Keeping track of the risk management demands from various vendors can be a daunting task. It\u2019s a good idea to entrust vendor risk management to professional cybersecurity research analysts. They\u2019ll ensure proper monitoring of third-party risks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Automate Processes<\/b><\/h2>\n

Security experts and other IT personnel like developers and engineers can get tired of doing repetitive tasks, resulting in complacency and errors. Automate processes to avoid this issue altogether. When there\u2019s any security issue, you can modify and improve the process to work accordingly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the case of an anomaly or <\/span>data breach<\/span>, you can configure an alert to notify the proper security authority. If your company operates without anomaly detection and automation, you\u2019re more prone to unregulated failures, resulting in data leaks that compromise sensitive data.<\/span><\/p>\n

Set Up Processes for Cloud Data<\/b><\/h2>\n

Organizations that implement cloud solutions can experience cloud leaks, where sensitive information stored in the cloud is exposed to the internet. You need to set up processes to safeguard cloud data. More often than not, cloud data leaks occur due to inefficient processes rather than hacking or errors from IT employees.<\/span><\/p>\n

Organizations must implement specific business processes to handle cloud operations. Validate cloud storage configuration at deployment and throughout its time of hosting business operation data. Automation and third-party risk assessment should also be part of your cloud data management.<\/span><\/p>\n

Do Vulnerability Assessments and Penetration Testing<\/b><\/h2>\n

Vulnerability assessments and penetration testing (VAPT) should be integral to your data security plan. What is <\/span>data loss prevention<\/span><\/a> in this scenario? Well, VAPT encompasses a vast range of security measures to help identify and address cybersecurity issues. Cybercriminals can exploit vulnerabilities in the systems and compromise sensitive company data.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conduct <\/span>vulnerability assessments<\/span> and <\/span>penetration testing<\/span><\/a> to test your company\u2019s cybersecurity. You\u2019ll determine visible weaknesses and address them accordingly. Adopt the VAPT approach to stay compliant with standards like PCI-DSS or GDPR.<\/span><\/p>\n

Train Your Employees<\/b><\/h2>\n

As usual, humans are the weakest link in the data security chain. Employees can make careless mistakes and can easily be manipulated through advanced <\/span>social engineering<\/span><\/a> tactics. Social engineer hackers send several suspicious emails every day, and all it takes is for an employee to click on a link or unwittingly download malware.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Make regular cyber awareness training programs a part of your cybersecurity plan. If you\u2019re serious about <\/span>data leak prevention<\/b>, organize staff training each quarter or monthly. This keeps them abreast of the latest data leak techniques hackers use to compromise security.<\/span><\/p>\n

Plan the Recovery Process<\/b><\/h2>\n

Even a robust <\/span>data breach prevention<\/span><\/a> plan doesn\u2019t provide a 100% security guarantee. Despite regular cyber awareness training, employees can still click on malicious links. In addition to prevention measures, it\u2019s also vital to plan a recovery process to reduce the impact in the event of a disaster.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A data recovery plan is a documented and structured method that details how to resume an unplanned incident quickly. A tried and tested recovery process plan should benefit you in the following ways:<\/span><\/p>\n