Many data breaches occur every day and affect both individuals and businesses. In an increasingly digital world, it has been seen that this illicit activity has increased considerably. In this case, we find ourselves with a serious problem in which users must implement security measures to protect their information, especially the most confidential data. Currently, we see news about data breaches almost every day, but that does not mean that we do not take our measures to avoid them. In this article we are going to discover why data security is important and also how we can improve it.
Data security is essential
In this regard, it is very important that users implement strong security measures that keep their confidential information safe. Therefore, in a digital age, we can say that data plays a fundamental role.
In the event that financial records, bank statements or private customer information fall into the wrong hands it can ruin the reputation of a person or a company. In this aspect it can be interesting to improve the privacy of your data. Now we are going to offer a series of measures that can help us improve data security.
Invest in cybersecurity
Currently having a computer with Windows 10 is the order of the day. In addition to trying to keep this operating system up to date, it also includes free antivirus software called Windows Defender. However, while it may be enough, security experts recommend that both businesses and professional individuals invest a little more in high-end data security software. Instead of relying on a free service, look for a quality antivirus and antimalware system that can keep your devices and data protected.
On the other hand, we can also invest in a good quality virtual data room. In that aspect, to save, edit and share sensitive files we should consider using a VDR. In the past, many companies used a physical data room to store their private documents, but these are now being replaced by VDR. They use data security protocols similar to those used in financial institutions. Thus, it is guaranteed that the information we store in them remains protected.
Password and device management
Data security also goes through the way we manage our passwords and devices. To begin with, it is very important that we create strong and unique passwords for each of our accounts. Nothing to reuse any password because if it leaks you are putting the rest of the accounts at risk. Our strong password must be at least 12 characters long, including numbers, uppercase, lowercase, and special symbols. Then, regardless of this, we should not store them on paper or in plain text files. For greater security we could use a password manager like Password Manager Lite for Windows. It is a good alternative both to store our passwords and to create them.
As for the protection of our devices, we must do it using a VPN. A service of this type, preferably for a fee, improves our privacy and security on the Internet. In that aspect, it is as if our data traveled protected by a tunnel thanks to encryption. This way we will be safe from cybercriminals, and from the prying eyes of our ISP and other companies. On the other hand, for data security we should avoid using public Wi-Fi networks and if there is no other choice but to at least use a VPN.
The importance of backups
A good practice for data security is to make physical and virtual copies of all our information, to have a backup in case they are compromised. Nor should we rely on a single device or place in the cloud to store all the data. In the event that that device breaks down or that cloud is attacked, we could lose all the information.
Therefore, not making a backup or backup of the data can be disastrous. Platforms like Google Drive or OneDrive have become a popular place for people to store their data.
On the other hand, if it is a company, it must have a good backup policy and a contingency plan for incidents. One of the things they need to be prepared for is ransomware attacks where a company’s files are encrypted. In this type of plan, both the files that are stored and the time it takes to restore them are important. Finally, it should be noted that a backup that takes a long time to restore can be very ineffective. This can cause many days of downtime for the affected company or individual, so it is important to be clear about the data restoration time.
