Five data security tips you should implement this Cybersecurity Month

Did you know that cyberattacks increased by over 30% in the last year alone? With October being Cybersecurity Awareness Month, it’s time to take action, establish cybersecurity best practice and strengthen your defenses against this growing threat. 

In today’s interconnected world and ever evolving threat landscape, safeguarding your sensitive data is no longer optional – it’s a necessity.

Tip 1: Verify your supplier’s cybersecurity credentials

Most organizations know to ensure their own data practices are up to standard, but what about third party vendors entrusted with handling your data? Make sure new and existing suppliers comply with industry standards and global data protection benchmarks such as ISO 27001. 

Tip 2: Ensure comprehensive backups for your teams

Secure backups are a key building block of any data security strategy. Being able to restore data after a data loss event – caused by human error or a malicious user – boosts your ability to recover from cyberattacks and other incidents. Solutions like CloudM Backup make it easy for you to see which users are being backed up and, crucially, who isn’t yet covered by a backup policy. Ensure that your backup systems are regularly tested, so you can verify that data can be restored when needed.

Tip 3: Retain important data and purge the rest

Data retention is a legal requirement in many countries, but holding on to data unnecessarily can backfire: whilst they require you to retain data, many legislations also stipulate that data must be deleted at some point. An example is GDPR’s right to be forgotten that enables individuals to request that their personal data be deleted. Ensuring that your data retention solution also has a data purge function is key to be able to fulfill requirements like this. 

Tip 4: Empower your teams with cybersecurity training

Cybersecurity is everybody’s business. Many organizations ensure that their staff regularly complete mandatory training, but keeping cybersecurity on their mind is key to ensure that the next time a suspicious email comes in, the right team gets alerted instead of inviting hackers into your system. 

Try these methods to boost cybersecurity awareness:

• Share weekly security tips in your organization’s chat.
• Discuss recent cybersecurity incidents during monthly meetings.
• Reward employees who report suspicious activity.

Tip 5: Automate to minimize human error

Mistakes happen to the best of us, so where sensible, try to automate repetitive tasks that not only take up a lot of time, but also are prone to human error. You will probably find that your team can spend their time on more important projects whilst tasks such as onboarding simply run without fail. 

Get started with CloudM today

Don’t wait for a cyberattack to highlight the vulnerabilities in your system. Take control of your cloud security with CloudM’s comprehensive data management solutions. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you protect your business from the ever-growing threats in the digital landscape.