Simply put, what is data protection?
Data protection or data security is a method intended to defend an organization’s valuable information against data corruption, damages, and loss. A data protection strategy includes multi-step practices that fuel the execution and maintenance of security procedures. A common part of data security is data loss prevention (DLP), a practice which focuses on mitigating data leakage and ensuring organizations satisfy compliance standards.
Why is data protection important for your business?
Data breaches and data loss incidents are rising at unprecedented levels in today’s business environments. Malware, ransomware, and a wide range of cyberattacks plague companies with a focus in targeting sensitive data. The cost of a data breach in 2021 was an average of USD 4.24 million. Protecting an organization’s most valuable crown jewels has never been more important. Through developing a successful data protection strategy, preventing such attacks is a critical feat in safeguarding company assets, reputation, and growth. In many organizations, the role of a data protection officer (DPO) enforces a business’ focus on meeting GDPR or Data Protection Act regulations. The responsibilities of this individual include satisfying data protection laws and driving data security best practices. With or without a DPO, businesses of all sizes strive to secure their data and achieve better security posture.
What should be included in a successful data protection strategy?
Businesses should consider these key factors in data protection security:
Data lifecycle management
Regarded as a policy-based methodology, data lifecycle management (DLM) is used to manage the surge of data throughout the collection, storage, processing, and deletion of data within a system, also referred to as the data lifecycle.
Data risk management
Companies focused on data risk management to control the way data is acquired, stored, transformed, and used to reduce data risk and misuse.
Access control management
Data access control entails overseeing the permission of users allowed or not allowed access to specific data or files. This technique involves authentication and authorization, two key components that help protect on-premise and cloud assets.
Data storage management
In simple terms, the process of data storage management is centered around the efficacy of data management. This means having a deep understanding of how storage devices work and knowledge on data availability.
Data backup and recovery
Data backup involves creating a copy of data for the use of recovery in the event that a company’s data is ever damaged, lost, or stolen. Data breach prevention and data recovery includes formulating a comprehensive cyber breach response plan.
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What is continuous data protection (CDP)?
Continuous data protection (CDP) or continuous data backup is a method concentrated on data recovery storage in which information is backed up in a system each time a change is made. In this process, computer data is automatically saved as a copy where users can save real-time versions of data from periods prior.
Data privacy vs data protection
Data privacy is the practice of gatekeeping who can access personal information, intellectual property, and other sources of sensitive data. With a focus in giving authorized individuals access to the data they require for their role, data privacy centers around ensuring only approved parties receive access and those who are not approved are denied access. Data privacy helps organizations avoid financial damages by preventing data breaches caused by malicious bad actors attempting to gain access privilege to valuable data.
The main focal point of data privacy consists of access policies and regulations, whereas data protection concentrates on the tools, mechanisms, and procedures used to enforce data privacy policies and regulations.
Cloud data security for your business
Security breaches in cloud computing pose multiple challenges. Because the cloud is a complex system, its intricacy makes it harder to monitor threats. Organizations and IT security teams need to be equipped with the advanced cybersecurity tools focused on enhancing visibility and detection across the attack surface layers within cloud infrastructure. Taking advantage of a malware scanner for cloud storage and documents gives organizations an added layer of protection against breaches and data theft.