data (opens in new tab) is the most important asset any company has, and they have long recognized the importance of keeping it secure.Hard-working employees before everything was connected (opens in new tab) I backed up my hard drive and stuffed my important data onto a CD-R. That’s right. Keeping multiple copies is a basic principle for ensuring data safety. But when Internet connectivity became commonplace, the focus shifted from data integrity to data security. (opens in new tab)Data stored in the wrong place or left exposed to outside access can very easily be compromised maliciously without loss of disk or any evidence of compromise. It may fall into someone’s hands.
Due to the transition to relying on cloud storage (opens in new tab)More and more data is becoming readily accessible to those who decide to access it.ransomware (opens in new tab), in many forms, data breaches become more profitable and then more common occurrences. Meanwhile, the rules and regulations surrounding data management have evolved to make breaches that are extremely damaging to an organization’s reputation and finances.
New data challenges
It is arguable that moving to the cloud was only a halfway point. Connected data is exploding today.Driven by Pandemic, Hybrid and Remote Working (opens in new tab) Not just an outlier, it has become the norm for many. 40% of UK adults say they work from home more than once a week and a third of adults doing their work hybrid or remotely than returning to the office full-time I would like to retire. Remote job postings may be declining, but that doesn’t mean out-of-office jobs will go away.
Remote employees may be tempted to use personal devices for work purposes, bypassing the protections applied to certified hardware. They may leave sensitive documents on unencrypted, unmonitored drives and relax their attitudes towards data storage. You might be working on an unsecured network where passwords are used. (opens in new tab) Surfing over your shoulder, losing important devices and data on your way to and from the office, or being too relaxed at home can leave you vulnerable to phishing scams.
John Michael is the CEO of iStorage.
scary future
The surge in remote work during the pandemic was a natural boon for attackers. The National Cyber Security Center reported that the number of online scams taken down in 2022 has increased 15-fold. Hackers know that remote employees can be more vulnerable to attacks, and such attacks can be more difficult to detect. far away. Such threats (and the vectors available for intrusion) are likely to evolve as remote work continues to become commonplace.
Advances in AI technology have made phishing more convincing, making voice and video models easier to trick employees into believing they are talking to a trusted colleague, as well as realistic and hard-to-find email scams. AI or not, hacker tactics are getting more cunning and much more sophisticated. And staying ahead of the threats posed by new technologies is imperative.
For example, the way we work may soon switch to embrace VR and the metaverse. Identifying compromised accounts or malicious individuals masquerading as colleagues can be much more difficult in the metaverse if all meeting participants are hidden behind avatars. Workers never let their guard down.
Importance of preparation
The Metaverse threat may be looming, but nothing fundamentally has changed. For all these new challenges, the core tenets of good data management (keeping reliable backups, obfuscating data to prevent access by third parties, always following best practices) is still the strongest defense. Building a strong workplace culture focused on cybersecurity hygiene is the best way to make tomorrow’s threats easier to manage, even as remote connectivity methods and the threats themselves evolve.
One thing follows another. By implementing rigorous processes and regular training, employees are made aware of the potential impact their actions can have and best incorporate her practices. Building a culture of trust helps ensure that standards don’t slip and that your employees know what kind of security measures they’ll need, even with their meticulous efforts. A well-thought-out data policy reduces the risk of costly breaches and reveals that employees need secure, encrypted storage to safely perform their duties.
Future-proof security
The benefits of encryption are clear. Data remains confidential even when workers share large files over public networks using file transfer services. Well-protected data renders intercepted emails, compromised cloud drives, insecure networks, and even undetected phishing attacks utterly useless to attackers. Encrypted backups are backups with inherent integrity that protect against intrusion and theft as well as data loss. And when it comes to local storage for remote employees, encrypted drives intentionally increase confidentiality. The contents of such drives cannot be accessed without proper credentials.
Encryption helps meet legal requirements for data storage and greatly reduces the risk of data breaches. Some storage options also enhance the potential strength of your security policy. Locked encryption behind two-factor authentication neutralizes leaked passwords. Remotely manageable storage can be geofenced to prevent usage outside of agreed-upon employee bounds, wiped remotely, and permanently stored if lost or employees leave the organization. You can lock it.
There is no point in waiting for tomorrow’s challenges to be revealed. Because today we know the solution. 256-bit AES encryption is considered quantum-resistant. Breaking it by brute force means that today’s computers will take longer than the universe is expected to survive, and that even tomorrow’s quantum computers will require an incredible level of development to come close. I know Encrypted data is more secure data. Applying the right policies will protect your organization as much as possible.
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