In simpler times, hacks were obvious, and firewalls worked. Now life is messier than our clean intentions. As data storage and the digital landscape evolved, data is scattered across various on-prem and cloud solutions and is nearly impossible to govern. This article explores four common sense, tried and true ways to prevent data loss.
Like nutrition fads or parenting trends, shifting ideas around data storage often sizzle with hype. And like with health and family, the subject can be an emotional one. In our increasingly connected world, data is life. So how a company protects, organizes, disseminates, and stores data is central to its very existence. It’s no wonder that the idea of leaving data at risk — to loss or theft or noncompliance — feels like such a personal or corporate failure; especially when we humans are wired to protect what is dearest to us.
The Simple Way
For a while, it seemed like organizations were leaning toward one-system repositories. But those were simpler times when hacks were obvious, and firewalls worked. Now life has become messier. As data storage and the digital landscape evolved with cloud and hybrid infrastructures, data scattered across various on-prem and cloud solutions and became nearly impossible to govern.
On an average, the modern enterprise employs more than a dozen SaaS applications. This creates an unnervingly large surface area for breaches, to say nothing of potential data loss, data ownership confusion, and the resulting lack of data sovereignty and compliance risk in a post-GDPR world.
So how do you get your data in order? Here are four common, tried, and tested ways to prevent data loss.
1. Smarter Training
When we know better, we do better. For a company to truly thrive, everyone needs to believe in the greater mission statement. With that belief should come a knowledge of how to live up to and protect a company’s data.
Human error is the biggest cause of data breaches in small to midsize businesses across North America and the U.K, according to a recent studyOpens a new window conducted by the Ponemon Institute. Employees deserve relevant training on best practices when it comes to data storage and sharing practices. Ongoing education is essential to protect assets.
2. Clearer Boundary Awareness
As humans, we find it easier to work with clear boundaries and structure. And so does data. The risk of data loss rises exponentially when lines are crossed, and boundaries severed. When enterprises house data on-premise, in the cloud, or in hybrid infrastructure systems, it’s necessary to maintain the ability to monitor access to mitigate exposure risks.
A cybersecurity system that automatically scans for breach detection and takes protective steps to ensure controlled access through an enterprise file sharing system is a crucial component that ensures clarity when it comes to boundaries.
3. Informed Execution
Access is everything, as are the strategies around enabling and denying access. Enterprises today operate with both in-house and remote teams, contract and full-time, not to mention a panoply of suppliers, vendor, clients, and other parties.
An informed execution strategy gives an organization the capability to share, shape, sync, and collaborate on data safely, with the right permissions, and grant/remove access at specified time intervals. That way an intern doesn’t get access to the CEO’s documents, and a sub-contractor doesn’t get access to confidential HR documents. That way, everyone stays in their own relevant data lake.
4. Data Thieves Don’t RSVP
Data loss protection (DLP) is the most defining struggle of today’s digital age. The risks are innumerable, from within an organization and certainly outside an organization. The DLP policies a company adopts, and the SaaS they rely upon to enforce them, must be under constant review.
There is neither one best practice nor is there a specific set of apps that can offer bulletproof data protection. If an organization understands its needs and has employees trained in how to understand and strategize against risk, they should be able to best judge data leakage protections needs and expect the best from a product.
Data is wealth, and wealth invites thieves. The best way an organization can protect itself is to first know itself. Know what needs protecting and prepare those who will be on the front lines of the crucial job at hand. The stakes are rightfully high, and it’s best to choose wisely.