The loudest voices in today’s debate over surveillance come from white, wealthy men, according to a Daily Dot report. In February 2016, the organization reviewed eight months worth of high-profile exchanges about surveillance and encryption in America and found that women (and other minorities in the workplace) are barely represented, let alone heard.
But as women in the workplace, we know encryption, data breaches and file security matters to us. According to IBM’s Cost of Data Breach Study, the cost of data breach grew from $3.8 million to $4 million in the last year. The study also determined companies have a 26 percent chance of a material data breach involving 10,000 lost or stolen records in the next 24 months. Keeping data safe isn’t news, but how we’re working to combat malware and data breaches needs to continue to evolve. It’s no longer enough to use basic encryption or change passwords every few weeks and hope for the best. It’s no longer OK to not be heard.
Today’s business security depends on the aggressive advancement of encryption technology and adoption — from all voices in the workplace. That may sound obvious, but it’s all easier said than done. For starters, hackers seem to be pacing beyond our data security efforts. Our encryption’s future also hangs in the balance as our politicians work on its legislation and legal standards for how to use it and who has access to it. But regardless of how our laws will help shape encryption, the need to protect our business data is now. Here’s a look at how encryption will change the landscape of business security, and how we as women can get involved.
Moving to third-party encryption services
Even huge corporations don’t always have a dedicated team to employ the latest measures in encryption standards and monitor potential malware events. Outsourcing data protection to third-party encryption services is a popular option, but can be scaled to fit an enterprise’s needs. It can also serve as a second line of defense against ransomware.
Ransomware occurs when a malicious hacker accesses your data (or your entire device) and holds it for ransom. According to the FBI, ransomware attacks against organizations are on the rise because of the higher payoffs. Businesses have little choice but to pay the ransom in order to retrieve their sensitive files. But an encrypted backup service can stop ransomware before it spirals.
For example, cloud-based data protection services can back up your device’s data continuously, keeping up to 90 days of your file versions so you can restore them at whatever point you need prior to your malware attack. That means if a hacker wants you to pay-up for your files, you can simply contact your cloud storage service provider, restore your files, change your security credentials and shut ransomware down before it spirals.
Use app encryption in tandem with other security measures
Most people only focus on encrypting their data and apps, but you can do more to protect your business by encrypting your entire network. To start, business can use IPsec (or Internet Protocol Security) to encrypt transmissions going between network systems.
Don’t forsake other security measures just because you’re using the latest in encrypted technologies. Companies often skip crucial security steps like restricting staff access to sensitive data, and removing old employees’ network credentials. Using two-factor authentication, or 2FA, can also give your security efforts a boost by making it more difficult to access your encrypted data in the first place. Two-factor authentication isn’t new, but using biometric authentication through voice, fingerprint and even your heartbeat is. Employing the latest in all data security measures in combination with encrypted data is a must.
