Three Essential Data Breach Avoidance Best Practices for 2023
Anurag Lal, President and CEO of Infinite Convergence.
Welcome to 2023 and the continuing evolution of enterprise cyberthreats. From phishing to malware to ransomware, enterprise cyber risk keeps growing with seemingly no end in sight. As data breaches continue to present one of the biggest threats to businesses across sectors, enterprises must adopt strong cybersecurity strategies that mitigate security threats and protect their business, their data and their bottom line.
There is increasing recognition of the role of cyber as a strategic business issue. A 2023 Global Future of Cyber survey by Deloitte revealed that cyber as a business priority is becoming more evident at the board level with 70% of respondents reporting that cyber was on their board’s agenda on a regular basis, either monthly or quarterly.
As cybersecurity increasingly becomes a business priority, enterprise leaders are focusing on implementing best practice strategies aimed at preventing cyberattacks and data breaches. In 2023, organizations should prioritize the following strategies for reducing cyber risk:
- Adopt technologies aligned with zero trust principles
- Consistently train employees
- Establish and enforce security-first Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies
Technologies that support a zero-trust security posture are business critical today. This is especially true when it comes to mobile messaging and collaboration platforms which are now widely used business enablers in the here-to-stay era of remote and hybrid work. This increasingly distributed work environment is fueling the troubling and risky use of unsecure consumer-grade communication channels containing inherent security vulnerabilities that don’t align with zero-trust principles. To remain cybersecure, enterprises need to adopt a secure mobile messaging and collaboration platform with gold standard enterprise-grade end-to-end encryption, complete IT visibility and control and compliance guaranteed.
It is widely known that employees can be one of the weakest links in the chain of cybersecurity. In fact, Verizon’s 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report found that 82% of breaches involved the “human element.” Cyber risk involving employees increased over the last several years as employees worked from home or other remote locations over unsecured Wi-Fi networks. To minimize cyber risk and embed a security first approach throughout the enterprise, a consistent cadence of employee cybersecurity training is essential.
Training employees on the importance of data security and how to recognize cyberattacks equips them with the knowledge they need to identify and report suspicious activities. Regular security training is critical for keeping employees updated on company security protocols such as changing passwords often and helping them remain on the alert for evolving malware, phishing and social engineering attacks.
Employees using their own devices introduce new challenges to enterprise security. To prevent data breaches organizations must establish and enforce “acceptable use” policies.
These policies should include requiring the use of passwords with multi-factor authentication, requiring employees to use VPNs when working remotely and prohibiting the downloading of unsanctioned apps and use of unauthorized messaging apps in workflows.
To help eliminate the use of unsecure consumer-grade messaging apps and lock down business communication, enterprises can combine BYOD with secure, compliant mobile messaging and collaboration technology that enhances employee communication without compromising data privacy and security.
These three data breach avoidance best practices can help ensure sensitive business data is protected, cyber risk is mitigated, and business success is supported and enabled.
