What Are Essential Steps to Protect Enterprise Data?
In a world where cyber threats loom larger each day, protecting enterprise data has become not just a priority but a necessity for survival. As businesses navigate this ever-evolving landscape, it’s crucial to have a robust defense strategy. To shed light on this critical issue, we’ve reached out to some of the foremost minds in cybersecurity—CEOs and CISOs whose expertise can guide us through the complexities of data protection. From mastering the fundamentals of cybersecurity hygiene to probing deeply into your data environment, these experts offer invaluable insights. Dive into their top five essential steps and discover how you can strengthen your organization’s defenses against the ever-present threat of cyber attacks.
- Maintain Basic Cybersecurity Hygiene
- Implement Multi-Factor Authentication
- Adopt a Zero-Trust Policy
- Integrate End-to-End Encryption
- Understand Your Data Landscape
Maintain Basic Cybersecurity Hygiene
In my experience, most ransomware incidents stem from gaps in basic cybersecurity hygiene—outdated software with known vulnerabilities, poor access controls, lack of data backups, or segmentation between critical systems. Attackers will inevitably find cracks in your armor, so a strong defensive posture is paramount.
First, Keep systems patched and up-to-date. Ransomware preys on known software vulnerabilities, so ensuring all applications, operating systems, and firmware are promptly updated is crucial.
Then, implement multi-layered defenses. Endpoint protection, firewalls, email filters, and other security controls create multiple checkpoints to detect and stop threats. No single solution is failsafe. Also, back up data regularly using resilient backup solutions. Ransomware gangs are constantly evolving their tactics to target and encrypt backups, so layered defenses with immutable storage are essential. Consider having rotation schemes, using tape as backup media, or MFA-protected cloud backups.
Additionally, make sure to enhance user awareness. Phishing and social engineering enable many ransomware infections. Ongoing cybersecurity training keeps your workforce vigilant against these tactics.
Finally, have an incident response plan. Know who to contact and what actions to take if an attack occurs. Run drills so procedures are well-rehearsed versus scrambling reactively.
Bogdan Glushko, CEO, Proven Data
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication
To safeguard your company’s data, you should use multi-factor authentication (MFA). MFA adds a second layer of security on top of passwords. By requiring users to provide two or more verification factors, MFA significantly reduces the risk of unauthorized access, even if passwords are compromised. MFA is also affordable and easy to set up with your current software. It’s a simple way to make your data safer.
Hodahel Moinzadeh, Founder & Senior Systems Administrator, SecureCPU Managed IT Services
Adopt a Zero-Trust Policy
Implementing a zero-trust policy is essential to protecting your enterprise data. From finance and HR to marketing and sales, your data is the lifeblood of your organization. Don’t assume that there is no risk because someone is accessing the data from inside your organization. Insider threats, whether intentional or accidental, can be just as harmful as external attacks.
Adopting a zero-trust policy, i.e., “never trust, always verify,” is one of the most efficient ways of protecting your data. Consider using a tiered system so that only people who truly need access to certain data can access it. Check their credentials before you allow access, and ensure you have a log of who has accessed the data and when. Additionally, continuously monitor and reassess access permissions to quickly identify and mitigate potential threats.
Craig Bird, Managing Director, CloudTech24
Integrate End-to-End Encryption
At ScoreDetect, an essential step we take to protect enterprise data is implementing end-to-end encryption across all our digital platforms. This ensures that data, whether at rest or in transit, is inaccessible to unauthorized parties.
Integrating this level of encryption into our blockchain-technology framework provides a robust defense against breaches, safeguarding our customers’ digital assets effectively. This practice has been fundamental in maintaining trust and security in our services.
Michael Sumner, Founder and CEO, ScoreDetect.com
Understand Your Data Landscape
Before planning my defenses, I want to fully understand: What sensitive data elements exist in my environment; Where sensitive data are stored, and in what format(s); Why these data are considered sensitive (regulations, competitive advantage, etc.); Who SHOULD have access to each of the sensitive data elements, following the least-privilege/least-access principles; and who currently HAS access to each of the sensitive data elements.
Without this information, any planned defenses are likely to be incomplete and/or ineffective.
KC Condit, CISO, G6 Hospitality LLC
