Data Breach Prevention Tips: Everything You Need to Know to Enhance Security

The last thing any organization needs is to discover that there has been a major security breach of confidential and private data. This can lead to legal repercussions and a general loss of respect in terms of brand image. However, transitioning to completely digital is the new norm, so companies are forced to transition as well. This can lead to serious security risks that cause data loss if precautions aren’t taken. Therefore, learn about the leading causes of data breaches in organizations, plus strategies for preventing them.

Leading Causes of Data Breaches in 2023

One way to avoid a potential data breach is to identify its leading causes so that a person can better understand where a breach may come from. The most notable reasons for data breaches include:

• Weak passwords that result in data loss
• Criminal hacking in one form or another
• Social engineering, where employees are manipulated
• Backdoors or vulnerabilities in the software a company uses
• Insider threats
• Physical threats
• Phishing, malware, or ransomware schemes

In the majority of cases, a data breach occurs due to actions by employees that inadvertently allow hackers to gain access to company systems. Consider the following data breach prevention tips to prevent this and all potential causes of data breaches.

5 Crucial Data Breach Prevention Tips to Follow

Data breaches are extremely serious and should not be taken lightly, as both financial and reputational risks occur as a result. Therefore, consider each of the following five tips for preventing this from occurring:

1. Train Employees on Cybersecurity

As mentioned, data breaches often happen because an employee accidentally does something that allows a hacker into company systems. This is why one of the best tips for preventing future breaches is employee training in cybersecurity. Show employees examples of common scams and hacks so that they can keep a more vigilant eye out for fraudulent information.

2. Utilize Two-factor Authentication

For those unfamiliar, two-factor authentication simply means utilizing two different forms of identification when logging in. A common example would be having an employee input a password, followed by inputting a code on their personal device that changes every sixty seconds. This makes it extremely difficult for criminals to get into systems.

3. Update Procedures on a Regular Basis

Having adequate security procedures in place is always a great idea, but it’s important to mix them up in the future to make them more challenging to guess. Whether this is setting a certain amount of time before password changes are necessary or even updating the security systems at an organization, always try to keep things fresh.

4. Take Advantage of Remote Monitoring Services

Constantly monitoring the security of a network is an absolute must for any modern organization. This may require hiring more IT staff, but when the trade-off is a reduced risk of data breaches, it’s more than worth the cost.

5. Always Back Up Data and Have a Recovery Plan

Finally, all organizations need a backup plan in place in case of a data breach. To ensure you don’t lose the data, always have backup storage for data and a way to move forward after the data is gone. This recovery plan will help expedite potentially recovering some data and alerting customers as to what happened.

Learn to Secure Your Data with Efficiency Today

Dealing with the fallout of a data breach is extremely challenging, especially if it is unknown what data was leaked or how much of it. This is why having a data breach protection plan in place, along with data recovery methods, is so important for a modern business. Therefore, if your business in the Cleveland, Columbus, or Akron area requires setting up a data protection strategy for their IT services, don’t hesitate to contact us at Warwick as soon as possible.