Data security is the practice of implementing policies, procedures and technology that protect data from unauthorized access or manipulation. Data security is essential to safeguard valuable information and ensuring it’s disposed of in a way that does not require it. It also assists organizations in meeting legal and regulatory requirements such as data protection regulations like GDPR CCPA, HIPAA and PCI DSS, and prevents costly lawsuits, settlements and reputational damage due to malicious or accidental activities, such as employee mistakes and ransomware attacks.
Authentication is the process of precisely identifying a person prior to the time they are allowed to access or alter any data. This usually involves using passwords and PIN numbers, as well as swipe cards, biometrics and other methods to confirm identities before allowing access to data. It is also necessary to keep the records of every user’s activity and creating controls to limit the access and sharing of information, and to identify and monitor suspicious or unusual activities that could indicate the possibility of a breach.
Classification of data enables companies to categorize and prioritize information based on its level of sensitivity. It is vital to know the types of data you gather and only utilize what is essential to your business operations and goals. It’s equally from this source essential to establish a plan for ensuring you are able to access and retrieve data in the event of system failure or natural disaster, or even a data breach. This typically involves storing complete backups, including differential and increments of crucial data in locations physically separate from your original storage device as well as networking.