Data Security: What It Consists Of And What Is Important In Your Company?

Data security , also known as information security or information security is an essential aspect of IT in organizations of any size and type. This is an aspect that has to do with the protection of data against unauthorized access and to protect it from possible corruption throughout its life cycle .

Data security includes concepts such as data encryption, tokenization, and key management practices that help protect data across all applications and platforms in an organization .

Today, organizations around the world invest heavily in information technology related to cyber defense in order to protect their critical assets: their brand, intellectual capital and their customer information.

In all data security issues there are common elements that all organizations must take into account when applying their measures: people, processes and technology .

Some Concepts You Should Know

• Data security is a critical issue that affects almost all of us. More and more technological products that one way or another must be taken into account for safety issues are being introduced into our daily lives , from smartwatches to driverless vehicles. 
• The era of the Internet of Things (IoT) has arrived and, of course, of hacks related to IoT. All of these connected devices create new “conversations” between devices, interfaces, private infrastructures, and the cloud, which in turn creates more opportunities for hackers to eavesdrop .
•  All of this has driven a demand for data security experts and solutions who are capable of building stronger and less vulnerable networks.
• Recent trends have shown that ransomware attacks are increasing in frequency and in severity .
•  It has become a booming business for cyber thieves and hackers, who access the network and hijack data and systems. In recent months, large companies and other organizations, as well as private users, have fallen victim to these types of attacks and have had to pay the ransom or risk losing important data .
•  So what concepts should we be aware of that can help us protect our network and prevent this new wave of modern cyber attacks?

Data Security Engineering

• Thinking about data security and building defenses from the get-go is vitally important . Security engineers aim to protect the network from threats from inception until they are reliable and secure.
•  Security engineers design systems that protect the right things in the right way. If the goal of a software engineer is to make sure things happen, the goal of the security engineer is to ensure that (bad) things do not happen by designing, implementing and testing complete and secure systems. 
• Security engineering covers a lot of ground and includes many measures, from security testing and regular code reviews to creating security architectures and threat models.to keep a network locked and secure from a holistic point of view.

Encryption

• If data security engineering protects the network and other physical assets such as servers, computers, and databases, encryption protects the actual data and files stored on or traveling between them over the Internet . Encryption strategies are crucial for any business using the cloud and are a great way to protect hard drives, data, and files in transit via email, in browsers, or on the way to the cloud.
• In the event that data is intercepted, encryption makes it difficult for hackers to do something with it. This is because the encrypted data is unreadable to unauthorized users without the encryption key . Encryption should not be left until last, and it should be carefully integrated into the existing network and workflow to be most successful.

Intrusion Detection And Response To A Security Breach

• If suspicious-looking actions occur on the network, such as someone or something trying to break in, intrusion detection will trigger. Network Intrusion Detection Systems (NIDS) continuously and passively monitor network traffic for behavior that appears illegal or abnormal and flag it for review .
•  NIDS not only block that traffic, but also collect information about it and alert network administrators . But despite all this, security breaches continue to occur. This is why it is important to have a data breach response plan.
• You have to be prepared to go into action with an effective system. That system can be updated as often as needed, for example if there are changes to network components or new threats arise that need to be addressed.
•  A robust system against a breach will ensure that you have the resources in place and that it is easy to follow a set of instructions to seal the breach and all that goes with it , whether you need legal assistance, have insurance policies,  data recovery plans or notify any partner of the matter.

Firewall

• How to keep unwanted visitors and malicious software off the network? When you are connected to the Internet, a good way to ensure that only the right people and files are receiving our data is through firewalls: software or hardware designed with a set of rules to block unauthorized users from accessing the network .
•  They are excellent lines of defense to prevent data interception and block malware trying to enter the network, and they also prevent important information such as passwords or confidential data from getting out.

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