In this day and age, almost everyone relies on data storage of some kind. When this data is lost or tampered with, it causes a slew of issues, whether you’re an individual, organization, school or business. Data security is crucial for companies because this data usually holds every piece of information about the business and its employees. Once this information is lost, it is not so easy to get it back. In this article, we will be exploring the importance of data protection and cybersecurity and how to make use of key strategies to tackle the challenges of cybercrime.
Data protection is very important for any business or organization that wants to keep a information about their resources secure from theft or corruption. The importance of data protection continues to rise even as the amount of data that is created and stored grows simultaneously. Even if a company database experiences downtime, it should be able to be restored within a reasonable amount of time to access and secure any important information stored there.
Another crucial part of data protection is that information should be able to be quickly restored after it has suffered corruption or loss, as the data shouldn’t be wiped out completely. The other key aspect of data protection is data privacy. With more people working remotely these days, there is now a huge demand for data to be protected remotely. It has therefore become a necessity for companies and organizations to protect their employees’ data wherever they may be.
Cybersecurity is equally an important aspect of data protection, and business owners need to teach their employees how to get into cybersecurity to prevent data theft and damage to sensitive data. Cybersecurity includes a lot of different job titles as it is a very wide field where everyone can find a professional path. Those with a background in information technology and computer science can obtain an online master’s degree in cybersecurity from an institution such as St. Bonaventure University.
Companies should also educate their employees on common cyberattacks such as phishing, ransomware and social engineering scams. There are cybercriminals always out to steal intellectual property, and even employees’ personal data can be attacked. Without a proper cybersecurity program in place, your business becomes an easy target for cybercrime. It is also not easy to defend your business data and other sensitive information once it has been attacked.
There is a constant need for business owners to update their data protection strategies and not rely on old tactics and the use of firewalls or antivirus software. The reason is that many of these cybercriminals are well-versed in their operations and are now very resistant to these old tactics of protecting data.
One major point to consider when it comes to data theft is that cybercrimes can affect any part of the organization. This is why employees should be made aware of cybersecurity and data protection strategies. Every business, organization and sector should embrace the use of data protection plans and ensure they are put in place at work and even remotely if their employees need to work outside the office space. Cybercriminals do not only attack big companies or sectors; they also attack small businesses. Once their data is damaged, it becomes extremely difficult to recover.
What is the difference between data protection and cybersecurity?
Oftentimes, many people use the words “cybersecurity” and “data protection” to mean the same thing. Even though they have almost the same functions and purposes, there are still certain differences in their usage.
What is data protection?
Data protection is the process of keeping every important piece of information about the business or staff safe from cyberattacks, corruption or loss. The need to protect data in any organization has become necessary due to the rise in cyberattacks and loss of data due to viruses and other cyber issues. Business owners now need to always keep their information and data safe and free from loss, theft or breaches at all times. The failure to do this often results in dangerous consequences, and in some severe instances, businesses do not ever recover from such data loss and must close their doors.
The key feature of safeguarding data is to protect it while also ensuring that it is always available for use at any time that it is required. Data protection consists of operational data backups and disaster recovery programs to ensure business continuity. Therefore, we can say that data protection is divided into two parts, which include: data management and data availability. The work of data management is to ensure that all data stored is very well secured and protected at all times, while data availability is there to make sure that the owners of the data stored can get unlimited access to the data whenever they want.
What is cybersecurity?
Cybersecurity is the process of protecting and recovering all networks, devices and systems from a cyber or digital attack. When a database is attacked, all sensitive information stored in it is obtained by a third party and may be destroyed. Some hackers also go as far as changing or manipulating the stored data for their personal use. They can also interfere with business operations and resort to ransomware just to get money. These cybercriminals have become very innovative, and if a business does not secure its database properly, it becomes challenging to stay safe or recover once attacked.
A successful cybersecurity strategy should include multiple layers of security that cover all the networks, computers, software and data that you want to keep secure. Since this is the only way to build an effective defense against cyberattacks, the people, organization and processes within the organization must complement one another. Your cybersecurity and data protection initiatives should work in tandem.
Since cyberattacks have become rampant and very sophisticated, it has also become paramount to keep any sensitive data or information away from attackers. These cybercriminals have devised new methods of attacking unsuspecting and loose databases, and they also make use of social engineering and artificial intelligence (AI) to control data security. Some hackers can also clone their victims’ websites and defraud unsuspecting customers of their money. They can also destroy the reputation of the business or organization once they launch an attack successfully.
To prevent data theft and other types of cyberattacks, there is a constant need to embrace new technology and cloud security solutions to keep your company’s sensitive data protected.
The importance of cybersecurity
The importance of cybersecurity cannot be overemphasized, and this is also thanks to the fact that the world is now very technology inclined. Nowadays, data theft is no longer done in secrecy. Some hackers go out of their way to flaunt their hacking skills by attacking companies and businesses with loose guards on their databases. These hackers go as far as stealing credit card numbers, bank account details, business-sensitive files, social security numbers and more. With sensitive information kept in cloud storage services like Google Drive or Dropbox, it is very easy for hackers to access any information they want, provided the security is penetrable.
Other key aspects of cybersecurity include:
- Secure databases for all types of information, including employee information and sensitive data
- Easy access to a secure computer system for use within the area of work or business
- Restrictions in place so that only users with permission can access stored data in the company’s database
- Reduction in theft, breaches and loss of stored data
Why you need both
Business owners and organizations now have the urgent need to protect their data from cybercrimes and theft, and the only safe way to do this is by combining both cybersecurity strategies with data protection. Leaving your database unprotected can cause irreparable harm to the business or organization structure. Due to the frequent use of computer systems in the workplace to store data, it has become easy for cybercriminals to access unauthorized data by hacking into the database. This type of cybersecurity breach poses a real threat not just to a particular sector or a large organization but to everyone, irrespective of whether it’s a big, established body or a small one.
Another major reason why you need both cybersecurity and data protection is because it gives business owners total control over how their data is managed and accessed. Since there are different stages of data use, you can strictly monitor its use and distribution, and it also becomes easier to follow and maintain all data regulations as it is required.
It may be a very long time before we see a reduction in cybercrimes, but you can take steps to protect your data by updating your company’s cybersecurity strategies. Maintaining a well-coordinated data system also helps you more effectively deal with threats and other vulnerabilities that may arise. As a result, you can prevent data loss or theft and keep your data private.
Benefits of combining data protection and cybersecurity
There are many benefits a business can enjoy when it chooses to combine the effects of both data protection and cybersecurity. Some of these benefits include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Prevention of data breaches: When a business makes use of both data protection and cybersecurity, there is less vulnerability for sensitive materials to be exploited by cybercriminals. Adequate checks and programs are put in place to ensure that all data is kept safe and secured. Even in the case of downtime, the systems can secure data from loss or theft.
- Ability to resolve digital threats: Due to the heavy use of computer systems, it is very easy for data to be exposed to threats and other cyber risks. However, by combining cybersecurity and data protection, it is possible to manage these threats even before criminals attack your database.
- Enhance information security management systems (ISMS): With the involvement of the ISMS, it becomes easy for data to be managed and controlled. It is always preferable to make use of this program instead of relying on other types of programs for data security and protection.
- Improve compliance: In this way, you can limit the probability of a data breach while also staying compliant and avoiding any issues arising from violation penalties.
Cybersecurity and data protection are strategies used to protect sensitive data from cybercrimes and threats. This is why it is important to have both of them interconnected to swiftly respond to any cyber threats or breaches instead of having to deal with them separately and therefore ineffectively.
Principles of data protection
The major point of data protection is to make sure that all stored data is safeguarded and can also be made available at all times whenever there is a need. The term “data protection” is used to describe both the operational backup of data as well as the business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) strategy.
Data protection strategies are further divided into two major parts which are: data availability and data management.
The job of data availability is to make sure that users are always able to get their stored data under all circumstances even if they become lost or damaged. In this way, businesses and organizations can rest assured that they can operate in safe conditions no matter the outcome that may arise from the loss of stored data.
In the case of data management, two key areas can be used in data protection, and these are data lifecycle management and information lifecycle management. Data lifecycle management entails the automated movement of critical data kept in storage systems both online and offline. Information lifecycle management encompasses the entire process of valuing, cataloging and safeguarding data assets against vulnerabilities and cyber breaches such as viruses, machine failure, user error, malware, attacks and so on.
The need for data management continues to be a major issue for companies and organizations, which has led to a reliance on offline means of protecting data from theft or loss due to viruses. Companies can make use of offline storage technology, which involves the use of physical tapes or disks to serve as a backup for data storage. This offline storage helps to protect data from any form of network threat or attack. Physical storage has become a well-known form of data protection from cyberattacks, which can end up destroying a whole company or organization.
Another approach to data protection is the use of mirroring, which allows business owners to copy and replicate their data files and store them in different areas that are easy to access once needed. Data portability allows businesses to move their data from one location or application program to another with ease. This portability prevents any problems that might arise from the misuse of data or theft.
Companies can also make use of cloud-based storage points and computing applications to allow customers easy access to data migration across multiple applications. The use of cloud-based backup storage points is a common approach adopted by many users in order to maintain and secure their data. The data can be stored on public clouds or other types of private cloud storage units.
When your data is already backed up on a cloud storage unit, you as a business owner can still choose to store or duplicate your data for storage on disk or tape. If an issue then occurs with the primary data storage unit, users are able to make use of the stored data on the disk or tape to restore all that was lost.
With the advancement of data storage units, data backup can now be paired with other types of secure data protection strategies for proper data use and storage. Companies and organizations can also make use of sophisticated data protection strategies, which help to archive, backup and index data all at once, saving a lot of time and data storage space.
Conclusion
The issue of data security is now more important than ever due to the constant rise in cybercrimes and attacks, which can also be caused by viruses, malware or bad actors. It has therefore become necessary for business owners and organizations to invest in cybersecurity and data protection plans to protect themselves from data theft or loss.
Cyberattacks can come from anywhere in the company, which is why it is vital to educate your employees on the importance of cybersecurity while also making use of the best data protection and cybersecurity programs available. These data protection programs should be updated frequently so that you can keep ahead of cyberattacks and threats and ensure your company and all of its data is secure.