Preventing Data Breaches

As society gravitates more and more towards digital, it’s no real surprise that data breaches are becoming increasingly common. While they have always posed a significant business risk for as long as we have stored information, our growing dependence on digital services, cloud computing and remote working has seen this threat rise exponentially.

In fact, according to the latest IBM Cost of Data Breach Report, 2021 had the highest average data breach cost in 17 years.

What’s more, an attack with no malware attachments can easily go undetected by traditional anti-virus software and cybersecurity measures. Without an adequate defence system that spans across cloud, email, and every user endpoint within the network, a potential data breach is inevitable.

THE IMPORTANCE OF A ROBUST DEFENCE STRATEGY

Data breaches can have reputational, financial, and legal repercussions, not to mention having a drastic negative impact on your organisation’s productivity. The average data breach now sets Australian businesses back by more than $3 million.

Without your business-critical data, your organisation will struggle to operate as normal and subsequently lose revenue. Additionally, if you need to recover and restore that data, more money and time will be poured down the drain.

It’s important to understand that there are different forms of data loss; including breaches, physical theft, malicious insiders and of course accidental loss through human error. Ultimately, businesses need to be aware of the different types of data loss, the associated business risk and most importantly, measures that can be put in place to mitigate that risk.

It’s crucial that every firm puts in place adequate prevention and protection methods to reduce the risk and minimise the impact of data loss. Security controls should include:

• Prioritising and controlling data – determining which data is most business-critical and sensitive, and controlling how that data is used.
• Managing and monitoring access – enabling adaptive access controls and gaining real-time visibility with contextual awareness.
• Educating and training users – helping employees to understand what data shouldn’t be shared, and the potential consequences of their actions.
• Establishing secure backups – ensuring there is always a secure, off-site backup in place that can be used in the event of a breach.

WE CAN IMPROVE YOUR DATA LOSS PREVENTION STRATEGY

At InfoTrust, our diligent team draws on years of expertise and best-in-class controls to protect your data against internal and external emerging threats, wherever and whenever they strike.

We implement a holistic Data Loss Prevention (DLP) strategy to manage the constantly evolving landscape of cyberthreats and adapt to the best practices in today’s cybersecurity.

Within this strategy, we offer the right security tools to strengthen email, cloud and endpoints against data breaches, exfiltration, and unwanted destruction of sensitive data. We also implement controls to target the most common risky behaviours and establish clear protocols for dealing with security threats to your organisation’s sensitive data.

Our industry-leading cybersecurity services also extend to penetration testing, awareness training, incident response, and consulting and advisory services.