Like it or not, data has become the lifeblood of the modern economy. For individuals, poor security can lead to identity theft, financial exploitation or misplacing priceless photos and documents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In business, the stakes \u2014 including liability and compliance concerns \u2014 are even higher. The following tips should provide a solid foundation for professionals, IT specialists, developers and others who want to rest easier at night. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Have a Third-Party Conduct an Audit<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n No shame comes with asking for help \u2014 especially for an issue as complex as cybersecurity and keeping data secure. A third-party security testing service<\/a> can:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s common for businesses to lack the in-house knowledge and resources to address their blind spots. Outsourcing to a firm dedicated to leadership knowledge in cybersecurity goes a long way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Bring Machine Learning Into the Mix<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Machine learning has practically become indispensable in the fight against data thieves and cybercriminals. The frequency and severity of breaches today, especially in large companies, is too massive to deal with manually.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2018, a single company, Marriott, discovered unauthorized access to 383 million<\/a> customer records. The scale of modern data theft efforts means we need far more efficient ways to perform access control in real-time. Machine learning and adaptive behavior modeling provide protections for precisely these types of threats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adaptive behavior modeling learns overtime to tell legitimate users on your network apart from bad actors. It\u2019s able to quickly identify questionable activities<\/a>, such as an unknown party accessing unauthorized files. As a result, companies can launch investigations in just minutes instead of days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Establish Clear Expectations for Clients and Employees<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Company culture can be one of the most potent weapons in the fight against data thieves. How can IT specialists and business professionals get started?<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Consider Outside Security Awareness Training<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For any business that\u2019s part of a larger supply chain, the risk of weaknesses in the cyber-security-blanket is high. Plus, for any organization without the time or resources to put together their own training materials and exercises, it could make good sense to ask for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many companies don\u2019t feel confident about going it alone anymore. Recent research indicates the market for cybersecurity training will reach $10 billion<\/a> by 2027. For companies that don\u2019t want to risk a fragmented approach across their supply chains, using a third party might be a good idea for getting <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Lock Down Your Physical Security<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Cybercriminals can find plenty of ways to brute force their way into databases from a distance. Given the nature of the threat landscape, it\u2019s easy to forget about the more tangible elements in cybersecurity policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To start, it\u2019s essential not to let sensitive on-premises go unprotected. Networking equipment and server closets should not be accessible to anyone except trained and authorized personnel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally, computers, hard drives, and other data storage devices should not leave the relative safety of the home base unless they\u2019re going straight to their destination \u2014 such as another company for repair. <\/p>\n\n\n\n