The term ‘data theft’ refers to the illegal transfer or storage of any data that is confidential, personal, or financial. This type of data is stored on computers, servers, or electronic devices and includes passwords, software code, algorithms, proprietary process-oriented information, and technologies. Unfortunately, data theft is a growing problem for everyday computer users. When the individual who stole this information is apprehended, he or she will fully be prosecuted. This means that data theft protection is a must in the industry.
How Data Theft is Increasingly Becoming a Major Threat to Companies
Being complacent about data theft protection can be a significant threat to a growing business. Assuming that you will continue to be successful, simply because you have enjoyed success in the past, is not very wise, and being complacent will put you at an increased risk of data theft. This is because, as you are not regularly updating your security protocols, hackers and the like will have ample time to figure out your system.
Revisiting and updating your business plan from time to time can assist with reminding you of the shifting market conditions and the need to respond to them. Put in place identity protection services to help you protect your data.
A business plan that is up to date helps to identify what action is required to change your business, as well as how it operates. Examples of these actions are:
- Switching to suppliers who can grow with you, and who can respond to your new requirements. As your business develops, regular quality and reliability may be more significant than just landing the cheapest offer.
- Renegotiating contracts to embrace increased volume.
- Training and developing employees and yourself. As a business owner, your role will change as the business grows.
- Ensuring that you remain on top of new technologies.
Types of Data Theft
There are several ways in which data theft is carried out. These include:
- Data Cyber Attacks
If your company falls victim to a cyberattack, this means that hackers utilize malware, phishing, social engineering, skimming, and related techniques to access your company’s protected information. - Physical Theft or Loss of Devices
If laptops, smartphones, thumb drives, and other data storage media are lost or stolen, and these contain protected information, these devices could end up in the wrong hands, thereby causing the integrity of the data to be breached. - Data Data Theft by Employees or Data Leak
Employees, especially those who are about to leave the company, may access protected data for malicious purposes. - Accidental Web/Internet Exposure
In this type of data theft, protected information is placed accidentally in a location that is accessible from the Web. As more and more companies make use of cloud storage, the likelihood of accidental exposure increases. This means that it is vital to have airtight security measures in place. - Employee Error/Negligence/Improper Disposal
This category of data theft encompasses all data breaches, which are caused by employee negligence. Human error is to be expected and, therefore, catered for.
Ten Effective Tips For Data Theft Protection
- Stop Keeping Paper Files There is no longer a need to keep paper files, as everything is now digital. Shred the files so that the information contained within does not fall into the wrong hands.
- Strictly Control Access Rights You need to be vigilant about controlling who has access to sensitive company information. The first step is to recognize what data is critical to your business’ functioning, then to classify it correctly, and use data loss prevention (DLP) software to protect it.
- Control How Much You Share Be careful of how much data you share on the Internet. If you do not want the world to know something, do not put it online. If you do, then the chances are higher that someone may be able to find it.
- Install a VPN A ‘VPN,’ or ‘virtual private network,’ creates a virtual tunnel, encrypts your data, and hides your real IP address. If you do need to share your data, do so via a VPN, as this will protect communications.
- Train Your Employees Educate your employees on the dangers of being careless with company information. Institute easy-to-understand password policies, as well as cutting-edge software that will protect you against cyberattacks.
- Make Your Passwords Strong Create long, alphanumeric passwords that contain both letters and numbers, as they are more difficult for hackers to guess. Do not utilize the same password for multiple accounts, because if a hacker recognizes your pattern, they will have access to your entire life. If you are worried that you will not be able to remember all of these passwords, use a password manager to help you keep track of them.
- Install a Firewall Ensure that you have a firewall that prevents hackers from accessing your private and classified information. This will increase your data theft protection capabilities.
- Use Anti-virus Software and Anti-spyware Keep all software on your organization’s network up to date. Whenever updates become available, make sure that you install them. Remember, though, that free security software sometimes contains “scareware” which can fool employees into compromising your network.
- Encrypt Data The process of encryption encodes information so that only the person or computer that has the proper key can decode it. Encryption for all devices that contain sensitive information is a must. For example, laptops, mobile devices, USB drives, back-up drives, and email.
- Use a Proxy If you are using a free WiFi network, your data is vulnerable to anyone on the network. As encrypted connections (SSL) are not universal, an easy-to-use proxy service can help you to protect your data.
Here are ten more tips to help you prevent identity theft.
What to do After Data Theft Has Occurred
Stop/Contain the Breach Immediately
The first thing that you need to do after you have experienced data theft is to stop or contain the data breach. The steps that are required are:
- Stop the unauthorized practice
- Recover the records
- Shut down the breached system
- Revoke or change computer access codes
- Correct weaknesses in physical or electronic security.
Evaluate the Damage
Ascertain how the attack happened so that you can prevent future attackers from using the same tactics to breach your data successfully. Investigate the systems that were affected, so that any malware that was left by the attacker can be distinguished.
During this evaluation stage, you will need to look for the following information:
- What was the attack vector?
- Was the attack based on social-engineering tactics?
- Did user accounts initiate the attack?
- How sensitive is the attacked data?
- What is the type of data that was affected?
- Does the data consist of high-risk information?
- Was the data encrypted?
- Did the company back up their data?
Change all Online Logins, Passwords and Security Q&As Which Were Affected
For the accounts that were breached: immediately change your online login information, passwords, and security questions-and-answers. Do this for your other accounts if they have similar passwords and security questions and answers.
Use a Password Manage
As stated earlier in this article, if you have trouble remembering different passwords for each of your accounts, consider using a password manager. With this, you will only have to remember the master password. However, make sure that this master password cannot be hacked easily, because if this happens, the hacker will gain access to all of your passwords.
Use Two-Factor Authentication to Put An Extra Lock on Your Accounts
To enable an additional layer of security on your account, allow a two-factor authentication system (2FA) on your accounts. The best way to use a 2FA is with an app or device dedicated to generating these codes. It is not advised for you to receive SMS codes, as these messages are vulnerable to a variety of relatively trivial attacks.
Security Audit
An audit of your data security starts with analyzing what data a company has, how it works, who has access to this data and creating a strategy to document it. Understanding how delicate information moves within, through, and out of a company, as well as who has access to it, is crucial to determine security risks.
An audit of your data security starts with analyzing what data a company has, how it works, who has access to this data and creating a strategy to document it. Understanding how delicate information moves within, through, and out of a company, as well as who has access to it, is crucial to determine security risks.
Be Alert and at the Ready
Apart from the steps mentioned above, the three most important things to remember when facing a security breach are:
1. Stop the Breach
Once you notice that your data has been breached, contain the breach as quickly as possible:
- Start by isolating any system(s) that were accessed by the attacker. This is so you can prevent the breach from spreading to the entire network.
- Disconnect breached user accounts and/or departments.
Having a sophisticated security infrastructure that contains multiple layers, as well as data theft protection policies, can assist you with locating and isolating the attack much more quickly. Then eliminate the threat to prevent any further damage.
2. Notify Those Affected
While investigating the data breach, companies can uncover all of those users who were affected, as well as those who could have been.
3. Security Audit
The final step is a security audit, which assesses the current security systems of the organization and assists with the preparation for future recovery plans.
Save Yourself from Data Theft
Data theft is a reality, which means that you need to adopt the best data theft protection services, the best identity theft protection, and identity theft solutions, that are available to you. Make sure that your online data is protected. There are many online identity protection services out there, and you only need to pick the right one! This is so that your organization is not left vulnerable.
– DataEntryOutsourced
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