Here are data breach prevention best practices.
Data Breach Prevention Best Practices
Ensure you’re using Encryption.
Make sure your organization is using encryption to protect sensitive data. Encryption protects data from being stolen or intercepted, and without it, hackers have a much easier time stealing information. According to NIST, organizations should use encryption for all stored data at rest and in transit, including passwords and sensitive data such as credit card numbers.
Segregate user activities.
It’s important to segment user activities from one another so that if a breach occurs, only the single account or system is affected.
For example, if you have users who not only access your network but also use consumer products. Such as banking services or email accounts. So they should need to use a separate set of credentials for each of these activities. This is called “multi-factor authentication”.
What is Multi-factor Authentication?
Multi-factor authentication requires users to enter a password (something you know), along with a one-time code sent to another device (something you have) to gain access to the system. This forces the bad guys to get access to two completely separate pieces of information to get in. Thus, making it much harder for them to get what they want.
Encourage users to use multi-factor authentication. For instance, when using consumer accounts that are being accessible from the corporate network. Also, encourage employees not to share credentials or usage with others.
If an employee leaves your organization, be sure to disable user accounts immediately and recoke access. This will help you protect yourself in case your former employee uses your credentials on another system or service, thereby exposing your sensitive data.
Have effective training programs.
Ensure you have effective training programs in place for employees so they are aware of security risks and are taking appropriate actions when they come across them.
For example, if an employee receives an email message with what appears to be a legitimate attachment, but when they hover over the link they see it is a virus or malware that has infected their computer, they should immediately delete the message and report it.
Have a security policy.
Also make sure that you have policies in place that require all employees to use complex passwords consisting of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols, and change them often.
Take advantage of any available tools that can enforce these policies for you. Ensure you have systems in place that can detect breaches quickly when they occur so you can minimize the damage done by hackers.
Timely security updates by vendors.
Ensure vendors are providing timely security updates for software products, hardware devices, operating systems, etc. So you can quickly identify and patch vulnerabilities before attackers can exploit them.
Also, ensure vendors support an incident response plan. So if a breach does occur and you rely on their products and services for IT functions and security monitoring, they will be able to provide an immediate response. Not to mention, remediation plan to minimize damage. This is while law enforcement investigates the breach and the root cause is determined and addressed.
