Data Privacy Day: Why is protecting your company from data breaches important?
January 28 is a Data Privacy Day. It is a global initiative that aims to empower organizations to respect privacy, safeguard data, and foster a culture of responsible data management. This day serves as a timely reminder for us to reevaluate our practices, policies, and commitments in the realm of data protection.
Using this occasion, Carlos Salas, a cybersecurity expert and the head of platform engineering at NordLayer, shares the importance of this day. Salas reveals what businesses should do first in order to protect the data of employees and customers. He also looks at the IT world and currently defines the most prominent cyberthreats.
Why celebrate Data Privacy Day?
Data Privacy Day is an occasion to educate employees, partners, and stakeholders about the ever-evolving landscape of cyberthreats and the importance of data protection. It is not only a technical event but also a cultural one.
“As someone who develops our company's technological infrastructure, the importance of data protection cannot be overstated. However, it is tightly connected with cybersecurity education since knowledgeable people and organizations make better decisions about their online activity, helping to prevent data breaches and leaks,” he says.
“Educated companies are less vulnerable to cyberattacks, making everyone in the digital ecosystem safer. As knowledge grows, it creates a culture in which cybersecurity is taken naturally.”
Promoting safe practices
“Data protection is crucial to any business. Without it, the company might get fined, and in case of a cyber attack followed by a data breach, not only financial but also reputation costs will follow your business,” Salas says.
Data Privacy Day reminds businesses and employees to develop security habits in their daily lives. Such habits include:
- Regular employee training
Human error is at the core of almost any cyberattack. Companies should tackle this challenge through education and training. Regular training with updated information will ensure that employees are knowledgeable about current cyber threats and know how to deal with them. Additionally, incorporating real-time cybersecurity exercises across the company makes training them more impactful, allowing employees to relate and, most importantly, be prepared for the real thing.
- Basic cybersecurity hygiene
Studies show that 98% of basic cybersecurity hygiene could protect from cyberattacks and potential data leaks. Such hygiene includes simple yet powerful moves like setting up a strong password, enabling 2FA, and updating software take little time but can impact your organization’s security.
For employees’ convenience, we have various types of 2FA available today, such as biometric scanning, one-time passwords delivered by email or SMS, and software applications to send an authentication code. However, this technology must go hand-in-hand with strong password policies.
Promptly updating software or devices can stop criminals from hacking into your system. In addition, updated software often includes security features that offer improved protection. In order to ensure more compliance and convenience, IT admins can set up automatic updates that are rolled out gradually to all employees.
- Invest in data protection
Have clear data protection procedures defined within your operations. If data gets breached, the company will lose its clients' trust and a fortune in fines. Invest in solutions and tools that will help you achieve data compliance or at least prevent a data leak from happening.
The three biggest cybersecurity threats
Salas shares that the most common cybersecurity threats today cause the biggest troubles for businesses.
First, phishing is still a major concern. Attackers lure people into disclosing private information, including login passwords or bank account details, by sending them misleading emails or texts. Much worse, phishing attempts have become much more sophisticated in the AI era. AI can construct conversations and even deepfakes to trick individuals into disclosing private information about their jobs.
Furthermore, incomplete or delayed updates pose a risk. Systems with outdated software and hardware increase their vulnerability to attacks if they are not upgraded correctly or on time. In such instances, vulnerabilities may be discovered if the user has not applied the most recent security updates to their programs. Risks can be avoided using firewalls, cloud cybersecurity, and regular upgrades.
Lastly, the Internet of Things (IoT) has security weaknesses. The network's potential attack surface is expanding due to the exponential growth of connected devices. But not all Internet of Things (IoT) devices have strong security built in, which makes some of them easy targets. Additionally, if an IoT device becomes hacked, it may act as a bridge to bigger systems, resulting in widespread damage.
