Data protection is a matter of trust. That’s why the steady increase in data breaches over the years has left a steady decrease in customer trust.
This is especially true for organizations not up-to-date with data protection solutions and standards. And if you want your customers trusting you again, there’s only one solution that will get you there before it’s too late: Managed Security Services.
According to a recent Harvard Business Review report, 88% of executives name large-scale cybersecurity exploits that expose corporate or personal data as a significant contributor to the decline in trust.
As the world grows more digital, customer trust gets harder to earn. Gone are the days where business could be settled with a verbal “yes” or even a handshake. Now, you have personally-identifiable information (PII) shared from customer to business with no knowledge of the security standards or data protection solutions in place.
The consequences aren’t good for business.
Every few months, another top brand discloses a massive security breach in which sensitive customer information was exposed. What happens to the business? It’s always the same: Customer abandonment, revenue loss and rapidly declining trust in their brand.
So, what can your business do to prepare? Let’s take a look.
Utilize multi-layer data protection
To satisfy customer data protection needs, businesses need to cover all bases with a multi-layer approach. Layers of defense remove single points of failure in order to fully protect customer data no matter where it lives – the cloud, on-premises or applications. Coupled with government regulations and strict data management policies, organizations can deliver the customer experience that is demanded with today’s data protection standards.
Outsource security to a MSSP
The evolving nature of the threat landscape means that traditional methods of security are no longer the standard in eliminating risk and data protection. Firewalls and antivirus alone can’t fortify the data storing castle. The industry is requiring proactive managed security solutions with integrated threat intelligence that can identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, risks and threat actors that endanger defenses. A combination of preventative and detective solutions can eliminate entry points for threat actors to compromise. It can also increase the time of detection of a breach so organizations can stop the spread of an attack.
Thwart phishing attacks
In some cases, threat actors are able to disguise themselves as trusted employees and business partners to trick fellow staffers in divulging customer information. Phishing attempts are becoming more sophisticated and human error often is the culprit. Phishing emails trick 23% recipients to open them and 11% of recipients open malicious attachments that could spread viruses. Continuous training on spotting a phishing attempt combined with strict email security, like adding [external] tags from incoming, non-domain emails, can help employees keep systems protected.
Fight ransomware the right way
The same can be said for data encrypting attacks like ransomware. Ransomware has become one of the largest threats that companies face. If customer data is locked and you are willing to pay the ransom, how do you truly know the threat actor will grant you access back to the data? Or, that a copy of sensitive data is not being sold to other threat actors? Managed security services like managed SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) can help organizations detect malicious viruses and threats before total damage is done on customer data.
Set up a compliant backup & recovery strategy
Data backup and disaster recovery solutions are another way that organizations are safeguarding customer data. Not only can it have your employees up and running in a cloud environment quickly after a data disaster, it offers data management capabilities that can simplify the complexities of compliance like HIPAA and GDPR. With features like search and discovery, mandates that require deletion and retention policies are made simple by combining disparate data silos into a singular view. Get access to all your data, no matter where it is located to simplify data governance.
Learn how to properly manage data
Looking beyond headlines and big breaches, business trust has also eroded due to the mismanagement of data within organizations. Between fake news, fudged-facts and scandals, as well as companies like Facebook releasing data without consent, customers are no longer giving information out as willingly. Setting strict data policies, especially ones that align with compliance standards, and being transparent can help organizations align expectations on how data is used.
Conclusion
There is no quick fix to the trust and privacy issues the current threat landscape is creating. But organizations can still take steps to better protect their customers. The first is ensuring the security environment is properly managed. Whether that means in-house or outsourcing, a more proactively managed approach will help stop threat actors in their tracks and strengthen data protection everywhere you need it.
