Data Security in 2016 and Beyond: What Your
Business NEEDS To Be Prepared For
We now live in an
era where the vast majority of our personal and professional lives are
playing out on the Internet. This is particularly true in terms of
business, where cloud-based collaboration tools and hosting providers make
it easier than ever to access our mission-critical documents from any
location on the planet provided you have an active Web connection at the
time. Because of the increased amount of faith that we're putting into the
digital realm, data security is of the utmost importance. There are a few
key issues regarding data security that your business NEEDS to be prepared
for moving forward.
Passwords are Going Away
Simple passwords have long been considered by experts to be woefully
inadequate as far as actual data security. This is especially true now that
everything from bank account statements to medical records are being stored
electronically. All it would take is someone with a little knowledge and
the right hardware to guess even the most stringent of passwords, which is
why the practice is poised to go away for good sooner rather than later.
Many businesses are turning towards other options, like SSH-key
authentication, which uses a security key in conjunction with encryption to
increase the safety of information stored digitally.
With SSH-key authentication, all data is essentially scrambled via
encryption algorithms both in transit and at rest. In order to
"decode" that information and gain access to the data inside, a
computer needs the appropriate SSH verification key. Without that key, even
someone who had the password for an account would essentially find all of
the data unreadable, which is why this is one security trend that is
increasing in popularity and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon.
Security as a Service
One of the main obstacles regarding maintaining security in the digital
world has to do with the massive effort required on behalf of business
owners. Maintaining security patches, upgrading and monitoring
network-based security hardware and more can be a full-time job for an IT
employee - if you have an IT employee to begin with. Instead of constantly
engaging in the uphill battle of trying to maintain security on their own,
many businesses are turning towards third-party security as a service for
this very reason.
Under this type of situation, you would pay a third-party company to take
over complete control of your network security infrastructure. They would
be responsible for auditing, disaster recovery, real-time detection,
maintaining security patches and more - giving you complete peace of mind
as a business owner knowing that A) you are as protected as you can be
against cyber threats and B) you don't have to devote a huge amount of
time, money, and energy in order to get to that place.
Device Policies
Allowing employees to bring their own devices to work is increasingly
common, but it is not without its disadvantages. If an employee accesses
mission-critical information on their personal iPhone and then that device
is stolen from them, the data they were accessing is potentially
compromised. This is one of the many reasons why businesses are enacting
strict device enforcement policies governing what types of personal devices
can be used at work, what information can be accessed on them and what
happens to that device if an employee suddenly becomes an ex-employee for
whatever reason.
These are just a few of the important factors to consider about data
security in 2016 and beyond. The Internet and technology, in general,
brings with it a host of different benefits for businesses that can't be
ignored, but there is a seedy underbelly to the proceedings as well if
you're not careful. The key to cyber safety involves knowing what type of
battle you're engaging with and making smart, actionable decisions in a
proactive way.
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