Do You Have a Sensitive Data Protection Checklist?

Data breaches and data loss, including the loss of sensitive information, are scary scenarios. The last words someone responsible for data protection ever wants to hear are “We’ve been breached.” Every cybersecurity and IT team understands the ever-apparent risk, and continually takes precautions to ensure their organization remains safe. But clearly, as threats increase and intensify in nature, the risk is not going away – and organizations cannot afford to let their guards down.

While no one can guarantee a cyberattack will not happen, there are ways to protect your organization’s data. Here we look at the top five tips for protecting sensitive data. 

1. Using encryption

Encryption takes information and converts it into alternative information. It is one of the most powerful tools in cybersecurity as it ensures no sensitive information can be exposed to unauthorized recipients. 

Using encryption with secure file gateways ensures large files that cannot be transferred in email are still sent from one network to another network without compromising security. 

2. Secure email and web communications

It’s no surprise that securing email and web communications would fall on this list. The very communication channels that continuously remain cyberattack targets should be top of mind for your data security. 

Having a Secure Email Gateway and a Secure Web Gateway are essential in protecting your data. Protecting your data from attacks coming into your organization as well as protecting accidental data going out of your organization is a must. 

3. Protect your endpoints

Endpoint data loss protection discovers critical data that requires the security demanded by your organizations regulations and protects against unauthorized information copy or transfer. Clearswift Endpoint DLP also provides a fine level of granular control over removable media devices including USBs as well as individual devices to ensure only authorized devices are used. 

4. Employee awareness and training

“To err is human,” which makes your employees one of the biggest vulnerabilities in protecting your organization’s data. Awareness and training should be a priority for all employees especially those with access to the most sensitive data. 

However, even the best training can fail, which is why having sensitive data solutions can enforce policies based on users and data. 

5. Data protection in the cloud

Do you remember the last time you saved information on a floppy disk? Neither can we. Adoption of the cloud has exploded, but progress on the cloud shouldn’t stop progress of your data protection. As employees work remotely, use of the cloud in collaboration and sharing information has been widely successful. 

Clearswift can supplement the basic security controls provided within Microsoft 365 by offering better data governance and compliance features such as Data Classification, Email Archiving and Continuity, and Portal-based Email Encryption.