Most of our grandparents probably could not have imagined the technology we have now at our fingertips. Tablets, PCs, even a smartphone you can hold in your hand — all of these prove the rapid progress of tech nowadays.
Here’s the problem though: all of these devices and just about anything that can connect to the internet (which already includes our fridges) produce mountains upon mountains of data. Statista’s study of cloud data traffic predicts by the end of 2018, 16,086 exabytes of data traffic will pass through the global cloud. For those who don’t know what an exabyte is, that amount equals 10 trillion gigabytes of data being shared worldwide. That’s quite incredible.
But how do we keep control of this data? With our enterprises becoming more dependent on the cloud, we need to take immediate action, but many of us don’t know where to start. However, there’s no need to fear the big wave to come. Here’s a few steps we recommend to take in preparation for the increasing data of your enterprise:
1.) Know What Kinds of Files You’re Producing
Every company may be different, but every company produces data. The single biggest cause for data leakage is human error. Training your employees and investing in software to review the files they produce should be on your priority list if you want to control your company’s data. Many companies don’t take the extra time or budget properly for cybersecurity, causing big leakages that cost much more money than the preventative measures. In 2017, the U.S. experienced 1,579 data breaches with over 178 million records exposed. Already in 2018, there have been 668 data breaches and over 22 million records exposed. Don’t be overwhelmed by the wave of new data; take some preventative measures to protect your company and your clienteles’ information.
2.) Establish Security Policies
In addition to preventative measures, every company should adopt security initiatives to establish the procedures for secure development and response to a data breach. The business sector accounted for close to 91% of all the exposed records for the U.S. in 2017. Hackers are aiming their sights on businesses, and without pre established policies your business could be at higher risk. Even more of an issue — just over half of the companies in the U.S. experienced malicious insiders, or people who breach data from inside the company. Prevention is far better than scrambling for a cure. And policies will help your company avoid leakage and know what to do when data is breached.
3.) Budget Some Money For Data Security
Many executives claim to have all the right intentions when it comes to data security. And to be honest, they probably do. Regardless, after seeing thousands of leaks in just 2018 alone, something is being overlooked. Don’t cut corners and sacrifice your company’s security to save a little cash. As a better alternative, identify which areas of your company need more security and budget more towards them and less towards others. In other words, your summer interns may not need as much security as your client’s data. Budget accordingly.
The tidal wave of the future brings many benefits as well as challenges. If your company takes the steps necessary to implement solid security networks, you can fear less and prosper more.
This post was thanks to Kriptos.
