How to Prevent a Data Breach in 2023 (Best Practices)

What is a data breach?

A data breach is an incident or attack where a company’s sensitive information is stolen without their knowledge or the authorisation of the data’s owner. If this information is stolen, it can lead to massive losses as it often contains trade secrets, credit card numbers, proprietary technology or intellectual property information, data pertaining to matters of national security, and so on.

What could the impact of a breach be?

Preventing a data breach may not be as difficult as some people believe – in fact, later on in the article we’ll be discussing a few best practices to prevent a data breach to ensure that you’re protecting yourself from the outset. Here are five common impacts of a data breach:

·       Loss in sales volume

A data breach can not only cause severe reputational harm but also, in turn, lead to lost customers, which will adversely affect a company’s sales. When people lose trust in a business or come to know that it is not fully secure, they move on to other service providers.

·       Sudden/unexpected expenses

A data breach can throw you budget almost completely out of whack. Cyber incidents can not only lead to high and sudden, uncalled for expenses but also a lot of lost income due to the downtime following an attack. CFOs often end up paying a ransom to recover lost data which can cost millions.

·       Legal penalties and fines

The legal ramifications of a data breach can be devastating. Many organisations have faced litigation after a breach due to data privacy laws being violated or sensitive customer data ending up in the wrong hands. These fines can range in the thousands to millions, not to mention the bad press that follows.

·       Maligned search results on your brand

Nobody wants to do business with or buy from a brand that’s been the victim of a cyber attack or data breach. Nothing ever truly disappears from the internet, with many companies being tainted forever due to the damage the data breach does to their reputation.

·       Friction between the CEO and CISO

A few years ago, after a data breach, the CEO could throw their hands up and tell everybody how it wasn’t their fault and that the CISO (chief information security officer) was to blame. This is no longer the case. When a company’s data is breached, people almost always hold the CEO responsible as they are the “frontman” – the person calling the shots, so to speak. This can cause friction and disagreement between the CEO and CISO as the blame game ensues, with public dismissals often being the only recourse.

Best data breach prevention solutions

Here are some best practices to prevent data breaches, including specific data breach solutions, which can help companies cut down the number of incidents:

·   Multi-Factor Authentication – setting up multi-layered protection for your accounts will prevent unauthorised access and is a great first layer of security.

·  Cyber Security Awareness Training – Ensuring staff know what a threat looks like is critical. Running regular phishing simulations can help you see how effective the training courses have been in increasing staff awareness.

·   Zero Trust – Most cyber security software is based on blocking things that you don’t want on your system, but with ThreatLocker, you only allow things that you do want.

·  Next Generation AV uses a combination of machine learning, behavioural analysis and AI to learn how someone ‘normally’ uses the device. If something happens outside of this learned pattern, the NGAV will quarantine the suspected threat, roll back any changes, and flag the threat for review.

·  Data Loss Prevention – Specify rules on the type of data that you want to stay in control of – e.g. addresses, order numbers, or bank account information.

·  Cloud Firewall – A cloud firewall has all of the features of a physical one, but it’s hosted in the cloud. You can connect to the firewall via a transparent always-on VPN, giving you a secure connection without affecting the speed of your network infrastructure. For businesses with remote workers, a cloud firewall is a must.

·  Mobile Device Management – A platform for controlling devices, applications, data, and user activity.

·  Anti-Spam – Microsoft Defender safeguards against the malicious threats posed by email messages, links, and collaboration tools.

 

Emerge Digital helps SMEs to harness the power of technology to reach their goals. We are your partners in achieving best practices to prevent data breaches, offering tailored data breach solutions according to the current vulnerabilities you may be facing and the level of protection you require.