Modern businesses are increasingly faced with cyber threats that can lead to serious reputational problems, as well as data leaks. To effectively protect a company from such risks, a comprehensive approach to security is required. In addition to measures taken within the company, an important aspect of ensuring cyber security is the correct selection of third-party tools that help assess and prevent incidents, including a solution for attack surface management. In this article, we will consider key strategies that help businesses create reliable protection and minimize the likelihood of data leaks.
What is a Data Leak?
A data leak is a situation when information is taken outside the organization or a certain territory, or when information gets to someone for whom it is not intended. A leak can happen accidentally, if the security system is poorly built or has failed. Or it can be purposeful, when someone who has access to the data sells it to fraudsters or competitors.
The following may be useful for such persons:
- Customer information: contacts, information about the company or contract details.
- Passwords from the company’s online services and internal accounts.
- Passport and other legal data.
- Intellectual property: original developments, prescribed processes, naming and other unique ideas.
How to Protect Your Business From Attacks?
DDoS protection, web application security, prevention of internal data leaks, network perimeter protection and comprehensive infrastructure audit with a search for potential vulnerabilities are important components of information security that any company should take care of.
The goal of cyber attacks is often to gain control over important documents or data that attackers try to change, steal or destroy altogether.
You can protect software in the following way:
- Use DDoS protection tools (traffic filters, tracking mechanisms, fault tolerance services, cloud, etc.)
- Enter into an agreement with active network response services (ANSP) or security service providers.
- Automate detection and response to attacks.
- Increase network bandwidth (CDN).
- Update network equipment.
Popular IT solutions for business protection:
1. IDS as a Method of Protection
Intrusion detection systems (IDS) work by analyzing traffic to identify potential threats, but further action is left to the administrator. IDS systems are classified by installation type and operating principle.
There are two most common types of IDS by installation location:
- Network intrusion detection system (NIDS) – operates at the network level and can be placed at strategic points in the network to analyze traffic both incoming and outgoing from all devices on the network. NIDS conducts deep analysis of data packets at all levels, from the channel to the application level.
- Host-based intrusion detection system (HIDS) – operates only at the level of individual hosts. This type of IDS operates locally on individual computers or servers and analyzes activity within the host.
NIDS differs from firewalls. While firewalls only record external attacks, NIDS can also detect internal threats.
Network-level intrusion detection systems allow you to monitor the entire network and avoid additional solutions. However, they have a limitation: NIDS monitors all network traffic, which requires large computing resources.
As the volume of traffic increases, the load on the processor and RAM increases. This can lead to delays in data processing and a decrease in network speed. A large amount of information can also overload the IDS system, which can lead to the loss of some data packets and make the network vulnerable. It is worth considering this point in protection.
There are many other modern effective tools for preventing cyber incidents or data leaks, including solutions for attack surface management, platforms for dark web monitoring, and penetration testing services.
2. Access Management and User Authorization
The problem of data leakage due to stolen credentials or weak passwords can be prevented by implementing access management. Access management practices allow you to control and regulate access levels to digital assets in an organization, ensuring that only the appropriate individuals have the necessary access privileges.
Access management has a number of benefits and use cases:
- Access management helps to authenticate, authorize, and verify access to applications – only specific users have access to the appropriate resources.
- It provides control over critical information in an organization, allowing you to determine who has access to what data.
3. Maintaining Data Privacy
Data encryption can fully ensure privacy. It allows you to protect information from unauthorized access even if it is intercepted. HTTPS, SSL, and TLS protocols ensure secure data transfer over the Internet. They use asymmetric encryption to protect data during transmission.
For example, a specialized program based on these protocols can ensure secure data transfer over the Internet and will allow you to easily encrypt and decrypt documents, creating a high level of confidentiality. The public key is transmitted over open communication channels and can be freely transferred, while the private key remains in your possession, protecting the information.
4. Backup
Data backup saves companies in times when individual components can sometimes fail. The risk of a complete system failure is acute, although with a low probability.
Data backup is performed in order to restore information in the event of failures. Moreover, a disaster recovery plan is used, including appropriate data backup strategies and solutions.
Thus, copying prevents loss of information in extreme situations, ensures business continuity and further maintenance even under unforeseen circumstances. Critical systems can be quickly restored with minimal impact on the organization.
Without adequate backup and recovery of data, systems can be offline for hours, days or even weeks.
Why Is It Important to Protect Yourself From Data Leaks?
The consequences of a leak can seriously undermine a company’s position in the market and even lead to closure. Information that falls into the wrong hands can lead to the following problems:
- Strong growth of competitors. If competitors find out how your processes work and what the secret of your success is, you will quickly lose your advantage.
- Financial losses or lost profits. A product copied by competitors and attempts to rebuild the system after a leak will result in significant financial losses.
- Damage to reputation. If data falls into the hands of fraudsters, they will be able to deceive customers on your behalf. Unfulfilled obligations can lead not only to a loss of reputation, but also to litigation.
Final Words
Protecting your business from cyber threats and data leaks is an ongoing process that requires attention to every detail. By investing in a comprehensive security strategy and effective solutions, your business can not only reduce the risk of cyber incidents but also create a reliable digital environment. If you are interested in using attack surface management solutions, tools for dark web monitoring or pentesting.
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