What is Data Security? How Can Businesses Take Action?
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In today’s world, cyber attackers can attack many institutions or companies in seconds, regardless of small or large targets.
With the increasing indiscriminate attacks of cyber attackers, it can also cause big financial problems for small companies. Unfortunately, we can see the consequences that will negatively affect companies such as loss of workforce and disruption in business processes.
Maintaining and managing customer information is one of the most important elements for small businesses. Compliance with existing laws, efficient use of the corporate network, maintaining business continuity, and protecting the corporate network against cyber attacks is a challenging process.
At this point, data security comes to the fore. When the cyber attacks are analyzed, it shows that cyber attackers have increased the attacks they have organized on small businesses and they have cost huge financial burdens in terms of their results.
As data is digitized, stored, and processed in the digital world, companies have to use this digital process in the most effective way. Until yesterday, when thousands of sheets of paper and pens were used, the security of data was not mentioned much. However, with the digitization of this data, data security comes to the fore, causing the appetite of cyber attackers to increase.
What is Data Security?
In simple terms, data security is defined as the protection of data against unauthorized access. The most important focus in data security is to protect personal or corporate data while ensuring its confidentiality and verifying its integrity.
Our data resides on servers, databases, your network, personal computers, and most importantly, in the minds of corporate employees. Wherever the data is, we must protect its confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
Our data can be stored in any format such as written, audio, video, or drawing and must be available when authorized persons request this data. Otherwise, data security cannot be mentioned.
As data becomes digitized, it has become the focus of attention of cyber attackers. In fact, the most basic point of this focus of attention is that the data now has a value and a profit can be obtained in return.
Data is at the top of the assets owned by the institutions. Organizations can compile, modify, gain value, sell, turn into a product/service, or share their data. In this way, they earn income.
As always, cyber attackers try to access this data and illegally gain income from this data. At this point, instead of preferring institutions with advanced protection products and large teams, they focus on easily earning income without effort by attacking small businesses that they see as easier prey and that do not even have any firewall products.
Unauthorized access to this data causes numerous problems for large companies, SME (Small and Medium businesses), or individual home users. Stealing your bank account information, stealing customer information in the database, encrypting data, and demanding ransom is the most common cyber attacks.
Key Elements in Data Security
Data security is based on three main elements. With the fulfillment of these three elements, data security emerges. Otherwise, we would like to remind you that data security cannot be mentioned. These three main elements are listed as data confidentiality, data integrity, and data availability.
PRIVACY: To protect sensitive data from unauthorized persons or unauthorized access.
INTEGRITY: To prevent deliberate or accidental alteration of information.
AVAILABILITY: It is accessible by authorized users when necessary.
In today’s world, our digital data has become one of the most important sources of income for SMEs or companies. If our data does not have the specified security protocols or is not protected enough, unfortunately, it can become open to cyber threats and can be the target of cyber attackers at any time.
At this point, it is obvious that any institution (regardless of small or large) that does not take precautions can encounter cyber attacks at any time and cause great financial losses.
Malicious cyber-attackers, who get a chance to access any computer connected to the Internet, can steal and damage any kind of data, from the main servers of the institution to their financial data, or demand a ransom in return. This situation puts companies in the SME class into difficulties and has serious consequences.
Today, the fines imposed by the authorities after a data breach can be quite severe. Unfortunately, these sanctions and penalties are high enough to exceed the financial situation of SMEs or very small enterprises.
Data breaches are constantly on the rise, and according to reports by cybersecurity experts, this increase is getting bigger every year. There is no sign of a decrease in these increases, and it shows that easy targets that are open to cyber attacks are beginning to be preferred more.
What Can Be Done in Data Security?
Cybercrime has now become the nightmare of our digital life. This type of crime can cause serious damage to our lives and institutions. Even though large companies try to protect themselves by making serious investments against cyber-attackers, we have started to see that they face very serious losses.
On the other hand, we see that SMEs, unfortunately, do not have enough manpower in terms of both financial and security teams. At this point, they may be insufficient to protect their personal assets and the information that makes these assets valuable.
It has become impossible to prevent cybercrime. However, instead of this situation, we can easily say that healthier steps can be taken by strengthening your system, protecting it, and managing it well.
Increasing the basic information about cyber security for your employees and creating information security awareness is one of the most important security measures. At this point, it will always be a great advantage not to open files from social engineering attacks, phishing attacks, unknown e-mails or websites, or to keep personal information encrypted.
Data Security for Employees
Corporate employees represent the weakest link in the security world. No matter how strong a defense you have or how big an investment you make, it’s obvious that cyber attackers often use social engineering and phishing attacks to trap employees.
We have to inform and raise awareness of the employees of the institution against these attacks. Fake links, infected files, spam e-mails with threats or rewards sent to corporate employees are the most effective methods preferred by attackers when infiltrating the corporate network.
In short, the weakest point is always the lack of information security awareness of the employees. Employees are now required to use strong passwords or hide their passwords with a Password Manager App.
You should regularly remind them what they can do to protect sensitive data, and keep their awareness at a high level by giving information security awareness training at regular intervals.
On the other hand, we have to teach new employees about the sensitive data they need to pay attention to and the harm that cyber-attackers can cause, as well as provide orientation training.
Staying away from illegal software, ensuring the use of legal software, running antivirus or similar security scans of files downloaded over the internet will always keep you one step ahead. Awareness-raising activities like this are many security experiences that multi-million dollar security software cannot do.
Taking backups of important data and updating the operating systems or the applications used are also important issues.
Required Steps for Data Security
To ensure your data security, you should follow the steps below:
Creating Strong Passwords: One of the easiest and most effective ways to ensure data security is to create strong passwords. Passwords should be created with a combination of characters and numbers that cannot be guessed easily.
Secure Systems: In cases where your mobile device or computer is stolen or lost, putting a password on the device will be an important precaution to ensure data protection.
Making Regular Backups: All data should be backed up regularly and stored in a secure area to prevent data loss. It would be helpful to back up data daily.
Safe Browsing: Not clicking on harmful links and links while surfing the Internet will prevent malicious files from accessing your system. Personal information (bank information, identity information) should never be given to sites that are considered unsafe.
Firewall: To protect your network from unauthorized access, it is worthwhile to purchase a strong firewall. A very strong firewall will ensure network security.
AntiVirus Protection: Antivirus is important for data security. An antivirus program must be used to combat all unwanted threats.
What are the Benefits of Data Security?
Loss of data is very costly for an organization. That’s why data security is important and its implementation eliminates possible risks and provides benefits. With data security, vulnerabilities are detected and repaired.
Protects All Important Information: All sensitive information is protected, not leaked. Thanks to data security, all important information (bank information, passwords, numbers, etc.) is stored.
Saves Money: This allows to reduce support and development costs.
Gains Prestige: An organization that can keep its data gains prestige. Develops trust relationships with customers.
What Does a Data Security Specialist Do?
The data security specialist, who works in departments such as information processing and security, deals with the entire security infrastructure of the institution he/she serves. It protects the information systems and network systems of the institution. It deals with the company’s security infrastructure. Analyzes security systems and offers suggestions.
It takes precautions against cyber-attacks and carries out the necessary studies. It determines which valuable data is at risk and works accordingly. Reports technical information. It identifies open and missing points and offers solutions and improvement suggestions.
