DATA SECURITY

 

What is Data Security?

                   Data security is the process of protecting corporate data and preventing data loss through unauthorized access. This includes protecting your data from attacks that can encrypt or destroy data, as well as attacks that can modify or corrupt your data.Data Security involves putting in place specific controls, standard policies, and procedures to protect data from a range of issues, including:

• Unauthorized access
• Accidental loss
• Destruction
  

                      Data security also ensures data is available to anyone in the organization who has access to it. Some industries require a high level of data security to comply with data protection regulations.Data security can include certain technologies in administrative and logistical controls. It can even incorporate the physical aspect of security to limit access, manipulation, or disclosure of sensitive data. Most organizations, if not all, have some type of data security controls, some much more robust than others.But even if your organization is not subject to a regulation or compliance standard, the survival of a modern business depends on data security, which can impact both the organization’s key assets and private data belonging to its customers.

 

 

 Why is data security important? 

               Data security is the practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle.When properly implemented, robust data security strategies will protect an organization’s information assets against cybercriminal activities, but they also guard against insider threats and human error, which remains among the leading causes of data breaches today.

                   Data security involves deploying tools and technologies that enhance the organization’s visibility into where its critical data resides and how it is used. Ideally, these tools should be able to apply protections like encryption, data masking, and redaction of sensitive files, and should automate reporting to streamline audits and adhering to regulatory requirements.

Types of data security

DATA BACKUP TO THE CLOUD

                     Backing up your data to the cloud is one of the best ways to guard against data loss. Cloud data backup should be done on a frequent and regular basis; this is especially important for mission-critical data whose loss or corruption can severely hinder normal business processes and operations. Backing up your data to the cloud allows for easy scalability; the size of your cloud data storage can be readily expanded to accommodate your data storage needs.

ENCRYPTION 

                 Using an algorithm to transform normal text characters into an unreadable format, encryption keys scramble data so that only authorized users can read it.  File and database encryption solutions serve as a final line of defense for sensitive volumes by obscuring their contents through encryption or tokenization. Most solutions also include security key management capabilities.

PASSWORD PROTECTION

                  Password control is the primary line of defense in safeguarding the data within your network. Sensitive information should be password protected such that only users who know the password can access the data. The password that is used to secure the data should not be used for other applications or tools; it should be strong, with a combination of letter, numbers, and special characters, as well as unique. In addition, the password should be provided only to individuals who need access to the data to carry out their job duties. Furthermore, the password should be changed on a regular basis.

 DATA ERASURE

 
                   More secure than standard data wiping, data erasure uses software to completely overwrite data on any storage device. It verifies that the data is unrecoverable.
 
DATA MASKING

 
                    By masking data, organizations can allow teams to develop applications or train people using real data. It masks personally identifiable information (PII) where necessary so that development can occur in environments that are compliant.

 

  Benefits of Data Security

                      Loss or unauthorized disclosure of valuable data can be quite costly to an organization. It's the reason data security is quite useful. For instance:

 Marketing and competitive edge: Keeping sensitive information from illegal access and disclosure keeps you ahead of your competitors. Preventing any access to your future development or expansion plans is key in maintaining your competitive advantage.

Safeguards all valuable information: Sensitive information is never supposed to leak. Whether we are talking of bank customers’ details or a hospital’s patients’ information; these are crucial information that are not meant for every prying eye. Data security keeps all this information exactly where it's meant to be.

 Saves on development and support costs: The earlier you plug security features into your application, the less costs you may incur from any future support and development costs in terms of code modifications.