We are in the world where we use electronic systems for almost every transaction. There are many electronic systems, and all of them deal with data. Data is something which is considered valuable, and people are often quite sensitive to how their personal information is being handled. Due to the value of data and its impact it has on people, there is a massive demand for data security.
What is data security?
Data security is the process of securing the data and protecting it from unauthorised and corrupted access. Not all data might be sensitive, but others might be private and valuable. When unauthorised access to such data is enabled, it may create problems as it can be used by people who should not be using it. Data security is the measure which is taken to prevent the loss of data through these unauthorised accesses. There are many ways to protect data, and some of them include strong user authentication, encryption, data erasure, backup etc.
The following are some of the reasons why we need to protect data:
Data is an asset:
Anyone who is running a business would understand how data can be considered as an asset. Information about the products or the services they provide is very important. Marketing and financial plans of the company cannot be shared with anyone as competitors may use it, and this could bring your business down. Client information is also quite sensitive, and businesses make sure that they keep such data very safe and confidential.
To maintain business reputation:
All business provides services and products to their clients. When a client is buying a product using their credit card from your company they trust you and provide sensitive information to you. It is up to the companies and business to keep such information safe and secure. Even an unintentional leak of data can cause considerable damage to the reputation of the business. Companies need to take precautions and educate their employees not to share any sensitive information as security breaches in more than just money at stake; it takes down the reputation of the company along with it.
Preventive security measures:
Data backup:
If you happen to have a business, you need to make sure that you are regularly backing up your data. You can either store it in a physical storage device or use a could server. You need to take backups as you will be able to access data from an earlier time and it is also one of the best ways to retrieve data if you had lost your current data.
Data Recovery:
Data recovery is when you have to reclaim your data due to the damaged storage. Regular data backups can help in the process of data recovery. If your business has a data security strategy, then data recovery must be a part of it.
Firewalls:
Firewalls help you to monitor and control the network traffic. You can restrict access and prevent the spread of malware to your systems.