The majority of people want to know that personal information is safe when it is stored by an organization. This desire extends into the business world where data security is crucial my digital business blog to build trust between employees, customers, and stakeholders.
Data security is the safeguarding of digital data from damage, corruption and theft throughout its entire life cycle. It covers everything from storage and hardware devices to software, user devices and access control. It also includes ensuring policies and procedures are in place to stop data breaches.
Data safety is primarily achieved by encryption, data masking, and resilience. Encryption is non-negotiable for sensitive data in use and while in transit, since it renders the information unreadable to non-authorized entities. Data masking can be used to complement encryption by replacing sensitive digital data with fake information for purposes like database administration, research and development, software testing and user training.
Resiliency is about having backups and copies of crucial data which can be restored quickly in case of an incident or breach. It also involves disposing of physical storage media, such as USBs and external drives (and even printed documents and files) on a regular basis to ensure that the data is not found by hackers.
Data security is a key business priority because a high-profile data breach can cost companies millions in recovery and forensic costs, compliance fines and lasting damage to reputation and loyalty. It’s also a mandatory requirement in that the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California Consumer Privacy Act require organizations to protect personal information.