Data loss prevention is defined as the strategy used to guarantee information security so that digital and corporate users don’t send confidential or critical information outside a corporate network or even a home network.
The term also defines software that helps a network administrator control what data end users can transfer.
With the recent approval of the General Personal Data Protection Law (LGPD), the Brazilian legislation that determines how the data of Brazilian citizens can be collected and processed, concern about the issue of data loss prevention will be even more prominent.
In this post, we’ve compiled the main information you need to clear up your doubts on the subject and take the next steps in protecting your company’s data.
Preventing data loss will have an impact on purchasing decisions
In the midst of the Digital Transformation era, where data and information have come to play a fundamental role in the purchasing process, preventing data loss has become a priority in protecting customers and the image of companies.
In this way, all it takes is a virtual attack or a security breach to result in data theft. This directly affects the credibility of the organization affected and the purchasing decisions of its customers.
Data loss prevention doesn’t just apply to large companies – it’s strategic for any business. Involving all sizes of companies and segments of activity. Being subject to cyber-attacks, hijackings and data theft has completely changed organizations’ view of information security. That’s why data protection has become part of any company’s business model.
Investment in Technology is Fundamental
Software products developed for data protection use business rules and policies to classify and protect confidential and critical information. They aim to prevent unauthorized end users from accidentally or otherwise sharing data that could pose a risk to the organization.
In practice, for example, if an employee tried to forward a business email outside the corporate domain or upload a file considered strategic to a cloud storage service such as Dropbox, Drive and so on, they would be denied permission.
The adoption of data protection is happening as a result of insider threats and stricter privacy laws. As well as being able to monitor and control activities, data protection tools can use filters to control the flow of information on the corporate network and protect data that is still in motion.
Data protection is a shared responsibility
Data loss can happen for different reasons. Some companies may be more concerned about vulnerabilities and external attacks, while others worry mainly about human error.
To give you an idea, data loss can occur during a standard IT procedure such as a migration. It can also happen after attacks by ransomware or other malware. What’s more, these threats can be triggered by a simple email.
The impact of data loss can also vary according to the segment or size of the organization. In addition to impacting internal information, losing data puts a company’s legal position at risk in the face of compliance laws.
However, the burden and the challenge cannot be left to managers and IT teams alone. After all, the responsibility for preventing data loss needs to be shared by everyone.
In many cases, it is the employees themselves who accidentally send information that is considered sensitive. In addition, sometimes they also perform an operation that opens the door to a virtual attack.
Therefore, more than just implementing a data loss prevention program, we need to raise awareness. And to do this, the team responsible for information security needs to provide training for executives and end users on the benefits of data protection for the company, its own employees and customers.
The challenge of data protection
Common unintentional causes of data loss include hardware malfunctions, corrupted software, human error and natural disasters.
Data can also be lost during migrations and during power outages or incorrect system shutdowns. This shows us just how big a challenge data loss prevention has become.
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Hardware malfunction
This is the most common cause of data loss in companies. All it takes is for a hard disk to crash due to overheating, mechanical problems or simply time.
Preventive hard disk maintenance helps to avoid data loss. It also enables IT teams to replace the unit in situations of risk.
Corrupted software
Another common problem in the data loss prevention challenge is corrupted software. This situation can occur when systems are switched off incorrectly. They can usually be attributed to power outages or human error. That’s why it’s essential that the infrastructure team is prepared for incidents and ensures that systems are shut down properly.
Natural disasters
Natural disasters are related to all the items described above. In this way, it can cause both hardware damage and system corruption. A disaster recovery plan and frequent backups are the best strategies to avoid this type of data loss.
In addition to these examples, computer viruses and virtual attacks are potential factors for data loss. And they also cause great damage to organizations and their customers.
The direct impact on the business
As you can see, in addition to the challenge, preventing data loss can be an expensive process, requiring the purchase of software and hardware solutions, as well as backup and data protection services.
However, although the costs of these services can be high, the investment in complete data loss prevention is usually worth it in the medium and long term. Especially when compared to the impacts of a lack of protection.
In the event of major data loss, business continuity and processes are severely affected. Company time and financial resources often have to be diverted to resolving incidents and recovering lost information, so that other business functions can be restored.
Next steps
With the convergence of businesses towards the digital economy, worrying about information security and preventing data loss has become essential.
Not only will companies’ participation in this period of digital transformation be compromised, but any kind of initiative aimed at future growth will be difficult to achieve if financial and credibility losses hit companies.
About EVAL
A EVAL está a mais de 18 anos desenvolvendo projetos nos segmentos financeiro, saúde, educação e indústria, Desde 2004, oferecemos soluções de Autenticação, Assinatura Eletrônica e Digital e Proteção de Dados. Atualmente, estamos presente nos principais bancos brasileiros, instituições de saúde, escolas e universidades, além de diferentes indústrias.
Com valor reconhecido pelo mercado, as soluções e serviços da EVAL atendem aos mais altos padrões regulatórios das organizações públicas e privadas, tais como o SBIS, ITI, PCI DSS, e a Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados (LGPD). Na prática, promovemos a segurança da informação e o compliance, o aumento da eficiência operacional das empresas, além da redução de custos.
Inove agora, lidere sempre: conheça as soluções e serviços da Eval e leve sua empresa para o próximo nível.
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