Business and data are inexorably linked, now more than ever. Data provides many tangible benefits to a well informed company, but it takes planning in order to achieve this. Data collection and analysis are major portions of the planning process, but security is perhaps the most delicate issue facing the data of businesses. Here are a few proven methods to bolster your company’s data security.
Security as a Service
While much of cyber security hinges on software, there are teams one can hire for security as a service. This option accomplishes a few key feats. For starters, a security service operates by providing cyber security features via cloud computing, which allows for companies without a traditional office to still utilize and share vital security features from remote locations. A security service also fits into the larger trend of investing in trained professionals rather than the DIY approach that may be cost effective in the short term but potentially more risky or less profitable in the long run. By outsourcing security, you are essentially guaranteeing a higher standard of skill than in house IT employees typically offer.
Cloud Storage
Cloud technology is greatly increasing the productivity of businesses as it sees wider adoption in recent years. However, even just cloud storage has its own tremendous benefits to a company. Cloud storage is the storage of digital media on a remote server, rather than your own device, and this has numerous benefits. While it can greatly expand storage, the main draw from a cyber security perspective is two fold. For one thing, the remoteness of cloud storage provides a sort of distance from your data that can make it more difficult for potential hackers to find. However, more commonly, it serves to back up data, rather than replace it, as having the files on hand is convenient, but having a backup in case of emergencies can be a lifesaver in case the worst happens.
Cyber Security Training
The human element of cyber security poses a number of possible weaknesses to the security of your data, because hackers and other potential threats prey upon the counter intuitive nature of cyber security. Cyber security is fairly simple in theory, however, and proper training can vastly reduce the number of missteps around the office. Modern password security, for example, has been vastly improved by virtue of the introduction of certain strictures; these mandates introduce requirements to the equation of password creation that force users to make their passwords harder to crack, and adopting these techniques even when it’s optional can greatly improve your business’s level of security.
Knowing how to spot suspicious websites and activity are also crucial aspects of cyber security training, as this is the predominant method of cyber attacks. Computer viruses can range in type and effect, many of which are aimed at giving hackers a “backdoor” into your device or network, and they tend to get onto your device by posing as something else and something innocuous. However, with the right training, these fraudulent downloads can be avoided outright, saving you time and money that could spend removing viruses, let alone the potential compromise to your data.
Antivirus and Antimalware Software
Antivirus and antimalware software are programs that provide protection from the aforementioned viruses and other nefarious files. This type of software is vital to cyber security, because it provides the last line of defense against the infection of your device or network in the almost inevitable instance of human error. These programs operate by scanning your devices in order to root out suspect files, and this can occur before or after downloading harmful material. Furthermore, these programs will remove located threats, as well. However, this kind of software, as mentioned, is the last line of defense, and it’s not foolproof. Hackers are constantly innovating in order to fool this form of cyber security, as it has been around in some form for a long time.
Cyber security is a complex topic of discussion. Not only is the security aspect full of nuance, but computers themselves have always eluded the understanding of the layperson due to their hidden complexities. Cyber security is one part educating yourself on the needs of a device or network and one part technological solutions to inherently technological problems, and no one method is ever enough. Only by combining security features can you achieve a totally secure network, and even then hackers could potentially find a way in.
