Technology experts are constantly responding to new vulnerabilities with stronger security measures to protect sensitive information. But with the ever more sophisticated tactics of cybercriminals, will we reach a point where we cannot improve our practices as quickly as they can improve theirs?
That’s why it is crucial to apply the one key that can render stolen data completely useless to hackers. In addition to the many other steps we are taking to defend our information, encryption is an important layer of defense, and one that is all too often an afterthought, or even–in as many as 35% of companies–left out altogether.
By encrypting your data, it becomes completely worthless in the wrong hands, a final keyless lock should the worst happen.
The Impossible Perimeter
Hunting down possible holes in the fence of your organization’s boundaries is an endless task, particularly as mobile and remote access open even more gates to your network. Rather than fortifying a perimeter that has become increasingly hard to define and maintain, encode the valuable information that the outer layers protect for the final safeguarding of your most essential asset: data.
But in the multi-pronged defenses against various security threats, encryption has been underutilized. No anti-virus, anti-malware, or web filtering software will protect as thoroughly as this scrambling, and represents a broader approach than the norm.
Encryption can be applied at different levels, as well. File encryption protects individual documents, while device encryption prevents access to the entire device. Prioritize security and determine just what needs to be kept safe from attack.
Controlling Authorization
By defining who needs to access data, when they need it, why they need it, and how they must access, your company gains back the control it needs over sensitive information. Establish preferred methods for sharing necessary files by determining which transfer options present the fewest challenges, because from email, to online transfer, to portable data, each has its own set of pros and cons. Then the appointed persons–and only these–can access the data regardless of the perimeter without compromising current defenses.
Because encryption does more than protect against outside hacks, it also provides security in case of device abandonment, whether left in an airport or in a taxi. Encoding the information is the strategy that sticks closest to the source, effective at shielding data from whatever stage it happens to be in, through whatever medium it has become at risk.
In the high profile cases of data theft that have been featured in recent months, perpetrators are after financial gain from personal financial records, or seek to expose actions or information about individuals or companies, such as with the Ashley Madison or the Sony Pictures case. In either instance, perception and reputation of the company was heavily impacted. There are so many reasons to protect data at every front, and so much potential for hackers to strike. Layer in protection at every level to keep your business and clients from losing in case of cyberattack.
Come learn how our Telecom services can help your business enhance security: https://telecommedic.com/network-services-2/