Successful data breach incidents have become a very common scenario because it is one of the most lucrative ways for cybercriminals to extort money.
Consumers trust the organization while sharing their Personal Identifiable Information (PII). A successful data breach might cost a company millions of dollars and harm the brand’s reputation.
According to a recent report by Statista titled “Average cost of a data breach worldwide from 2014 to 2022,” the average cost per data breach worldwide amounted to USD 4.35 million. The report also highlights that the average data breach cost increased from USD 4.24 million in the previous year.
The highest average cost per data breach is in the healthcare sector.
CISOs and SecOps teams must design and enforce the best data breach prevention strategies to secure their organization from being a victim of a successful data breach.
In this article, let’s explore the Best cybersecurity strategies to minimize data breaches and their impacts.
8 Best Cybersecurity Practices to Prevent Data Breach Incidents
As data breaches are so expensive, businesses should take proactive measures to prevent breaches at all times. Despite an efficient cybersecurity tech stack and posture, it will be impossible for businesses to avoid data breaches entirely. However, here are the best cybersecurity practices to minimize data breach risks.
1. Educate The Resources
Any organization’s security posture will be as strong as the weakest link in the business network. Resources are the weakest link in any organization because they can access sensitive customer and business information. Organizations looking for the best cybersecurity practices to minimize data breaches should fight ignorance in the workplace. SecOps teams must educate the resources across departments on protecting data from being compromised.
Businesses can create awareness in the employees by making them understand the importance of setting difficult passwords and regularly changing them. Another effective strategy is to train resources to identify, prevent and notify phishing scams and other suspicious activity.
2. Develop and Modify SecOps Workflows
CISOs should consider developing protocols related to data security standards and update them constantly. It is one of the effective ways to set clear company expectations as it relates to data security.
Developing efficient SecOps work processes helps to portray the resources that the organization takes data security as a top priority. Security teams can vigilantly grant roles and permissions while accessing certain data types. Setting different access and viewing permissions based on their job description and designation is crucial to avoid data misuse.
3. Integrate Remote Monitoring Tools in the Cybersecurity Tech Stack
Implementing remote monitoring tools into the tech stack will offer businesses network monitoring around the clock. Businesses that do not have in-house resources can partner with a managed IT services provider to ensure the IT teams do not have to monitor the business network around the clock.
4. Keep a Data backup
In a few cases, successful data breaches can delete all stored data in an organization’s repositories. Organizations of all sizes, types, and industries need a data backup on a server that organizations do not use regularly.
Data backups will not help organizations during a data breach but also during a server crash or data loss. CISOs need to ensure that they have automated remote backup systems integrated to create data backups to prevent losing them regularly.
5. Store only relevant data
Modern businesses today generate a huge amount of data through various channels. However, not all data is relevant. Organizations must constantly monitor what they store on their servers and delete anything unnecessary. Additionally, the security teams must clearly understand all the servers where the organization stores its sensitive data and keep track of those repositories.
6. Embrace Effective Data Destruction Strategies
Before disposing of sensitive data, enterprises need to ensure they properly destroy it. For instance, paper files with sensitive business and client information must go through a paper shredder.
Furthermore, it is important to use software or applications that permanently delete sensitive information on devices such as phones, laptops, or hard drives. One crucial aspect that security teams need to consider while preventing data breaches is only deleting. Reformatting is not the best way to completely erase sensitive data.
7. Ensure all the Security Software is Up to Date
Modern businesses can buy and implement security software and allow it to run automatically constantly. Enterprises can select from various cybersecurity tools available to prevent data breaches.
Firewalls, anti-virus, and anti-spyware software are crucial tools that all businesses need on their cybersecurity tech stack, regardless of their size, type, or industry, to defend their business against sophisticated data breaches. CISOs can partner with the internet security team or vendor to implement and update security software.
Also Read: Strategies for a Robust CTEM Program: Overcoming Integration and Data Analysis Hurdles
8. Data Encryption
Encrypting sensitive data is one of the most effective ways for organizations to prevent being a victim of a successful data breach. Businesses should have a separate dedicated network for the resources the public cannot access to reduce data breach incidents.
While managing sensitive business and customer data, ensuring that users cannot access Wi-Fi is crucial. Connecting to the internet will expose sensitive data to cybercriminals. Still, data encryption will ensure that even if the malicious actor steals the data will be useless until they do not have the decryption key.
CISOs and SecOps teams can consider these eight best cybersecurity practices to prevent their business network from a full-blown data breach.
For more such updates follow us on Google News ITsecuritywire News. Please subscribe to our Newsletter for more updates.
