According to security experts, there is no end in sight for the recent rash of data breaches. Despite a host of high profile cases, hackers will continue to leak personal information of company customers until businesses improve their safeguards. With a layered security strategy in place, enterprises stand a much better of preventing cybercriminal breaches.
Channel Pro contributor Patrick Bedwell noted that there are several fatal flaws in how organizations deal with their customers’ data. These issues have led to a range of attacks and information leakage in the past and will continue to present the opportunity until business leaders address them.
One such problem is the fact that many companies don’t have a complete picture of the sensitive information they have on hand. However, if administrators don’t know what data is stored with the business, how can they hope to protect it?
“Most SMBs are aware of the potential for data loss, but a lack of knowledge means they are not overly concerned of the risk they’re susceptible to,” Bedwell wrote. “Insight into what systems are on their network is a challenge faced by many SMBs, including what data they are storing and what vulnerabilities exist for hackers to exploit.”
In addition to making sure they fully understand what sensitive content they store, businesses should also look to address issues connected with human error. As opposed to targeted attacks where hackers have a specific aim in mind, some breaches come as the result of an opportunity created through human error. This could involve anything from sensitive data transmitted over an insecure channel, password sharing or even software issues.
“You will always get breaches somewhere because [software development] was done by humans and they make mistakes,” noted security expert Florian Malecki.
With a layered security approach in place, however, the chances of these errors opening the door for a data breach are much lower. A layered security strategy can include a number of safeguards such as Anti-Virus, network monitoring and employee education. With these security measures in place, the potential for a breach is considerably mitigated.