Data leaks can be very embarrassing for businesses. They are very dangerous for your customers and for your business. It is important to prevent data leakage. Data leakage can happen due to accidents. Sometimes it can also occur due to intentional attacks. Thus, it is important to ensure that you are protecting your data. In this article, we are going to talk about the best Data leakage prevention practices. You can follow these practices for protecting your data.
How to prevent accidental data leaks?
Most of the data leaks are actually accidental data leaks. It can be the result of some human error. Your employee might send an email to the wrong email address. They might forget to encrypt their data. Sometimes your employees can upload your data on their personal computers. You can follow the below practices for protecting your business from accidental data leaks:
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The policy of Least Privilege:
If your employees don’t have access to your sensitive data, then they can’t leak it. This policy will help you in ensuring that your sensitive data is protected. Your employees will only have access to the data that they need. This policy will help you in reducing the risk of data leaks.
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Restrictions on Email domains:
There are various email applications and clients available in the market. Some of these email applications will help you in organizing your employees into groups. For example, Google drive will help you in generating a confirmation screen when you are sharing access to your files with outsiders. This will ensure that your employees won’t share your files with outsiders.
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BYOD Policy:
Most people are using their personal devices for completing their work. The BYOD rules will define how your employees can use their personal devices like USB drives, laptops, and smartphones. If these devices are not allowed in your workplace, then it will reduce the risk of data leakage.
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Cybersecurity awareness training:
Your employees should know about the impact of data leaks. Thus, you should provide awareness training to your employees. Your employees should learn about basic security rules. This will ensure that they won’t make basic mistakes. Thus, you can avoid data leaks by training your employees. Your employees will also learn about phishing and social engineering attacks. This will ensure that your employees will protect your business from outsider attacks.
These practices will help you in preventing accidental data leaks. However, you also need to protect your data from hackers.
How to prevent intentional data leaks?
It is impossible to protect your network from every malicious actor. There are thousands of attackers who will try to steal your data. However, you can reduce the possibility of cyber-attacks by using the best security tools. If you are using the best security tools, then most attackers will leave your network. You can follow the below practices for protecting your business from intentional data leaks:
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Protect your endpoints:
You can protect your endpoint devices by installing a firewall and antivirus software in them. This is very important for every business. However, these solutions won’t protect your network from determined attackers. These solutions will help you in protecting your network from basic attacks. Email client antivirus solutions can help you in preventing data leakage. These solutions will scan your email attachments for viruses and malware.
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Remove sensitive data from non-critical servers and systems:
Many companies store their data in non-critical systems. You shouldn’t store your sensitive data in non-critical systems. It is important to clean all the individual terminals. Make sure that you are not storing your sensitive data in these systems. After that, you should focus on protecting your critical systems. These critical systems are going to be the backbone of your network. Thus, you should use the best security solutions for protecting these systems. Sometimes attackers will get access to your non-critical systems. If you are not storing critical data in these systems, then you can easily wipe these systems.
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Layered security strategy:
You should try to increase the layers of protection. This will help you in protecting your network from most of the attacks. You should use firewalls for protecting your network devices from malicious traffic. Also, you should isolate your assets from each other. This will ensure that attackers won’t get access to your critical assets. Sometimes attackers will get access to some of your systems. If these systems are isolated from the rest of the network, then you can easily stop the attack. This will help you in saving a lot of time and effort.
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Install IPS and IDS Systems:
If you can’t identify an attack, then you can’t contain the data breach. Thus, you should Intrusion detection systems and intrusion prevention systems for protecting your network. These systems will help you in detecting attacks quickly. If you are using IPS systems, then it will help you in protecting against these attacks. These security solutions also have an automated attack prevention system. Thus, it will help you in protecting your network from various cyber-attacks.
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Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing:
VA will help you in finding vulnerabilities in your network. You can use the vulnerability scanners for finding vulnerabilities in your network. After that, you should perform penetration testing after performing a vulnerability assessment. This will help you in testing the vulnerabilities in your network. Thus, you can prioritize the vulnerabilities according to their likelihood and impact. After that, you should focus on fixing these vulnerabilities. If you are working with a good MSP like Bleuwire, then they will help you in fixing these vulnerabilities. Also, they will help you in finding these vulnerabilities in your network.
Conclusion
These tips will help you in protecting your network and business from data leakage. If you are an SMB, then it will be difficult to implement these security tips. Thus, you should consider working with an MSP. Experienced MSPs like Bleuwire can help you in protecting your network and data from attackers. They will implement the best security solutions available in the market. Also, they will help you in assessing the security of your network. Thus, they will help you in improving your overall network security. If you need more information regarding IT security services, then you can contact Bleuwire.
Contact us today to learn about Bleuwire™ services and solutions in how we can help your business.
