Associate Feature: Data security is now more vital than ever

Data is now the most valuable asset any business or organisation has. In a time when nation states are launching cyber attacks as a legitimate form of warfare, crucial infrastructure is at high risk of ransomware attack and the pandemic has created a distributed, hybrid workforce using cloud computing to get work done, there has never been a more pressing need for data security.
 
The Scottish Government has understood the urgent need for better cyber security practices across the public and private sectors. One of the key outcomes of the Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland, launched in 2021, is ‘businesses and organisations recognise the cyber risks and are well prepared to manage them.’ This is a welcome aim as the Cyber Breaches Survey 2022 found that 39% of businesses had experienced an attack, whilst only 19% had an incident protocol in place.

Many businesses are struggling to meet guidelines set out by the National Centre for Cyber Security (NCSC). Cyber resiliency can be seen as complex and responsibility often sits across different teams and departments. But cyber security is a big topic in boardrooms all over the country for good reason; it’s now fundamental to have a watertight strategy to recover effectively. 

Rubrik recently launched the Rubrik Security Cloud, which brings together three pillars of data security to ensure businesses are protected and can recover confidently and rapidly. We apply AI and Machine Learning that, over time, understands when your data is behaving differently due to a compromise. This is unique and applies the latest technologies to ensure your organisation is protected. 

Anyone who has any responsibility for data security should consider the following:

Data Resiliency
How resilient is your data to cyber attacks?  Do you have a plan in place to ensure everyone is across what needs to happen?  Should the worst happen, you need to ensure your data is safeguarded through immutable, logically air-gapped data protection with multi-factor authentication-based access control. That incident response plan is now as important as your fire evacuation plan.

Data Observability
Do you know where your data is? Do you know who has access to it and when? And do you know which applications and data have been affected by ransomware and other malware? Your cyber security strategy should allow you to continuously monitor risks and investigate threats to quickly identify specific malware strains, discover and classify sensitive data to better assess risk and help maintain compliance with regulations, and contain malware and restrict access to infected data to support safer and faster recovery.

Data Recovery
An attack shouldn’t mean that your business or organisation has to shut down - with the right tools in place, your data will be restored and business-as-usual reinstated without any losses or ransoms being paid. 

Think of it this way: If you were to be attacked by ransomware, what changes would you inevitably make to your backup and recovery operations in hindsight? Remember that if the right Zero Trust principles are in place, and include a secure data layer and immutable backups, hackers lose the leverage they need to get you to pay. Keeping data resiliency, data observability and data recovery in mind from the start will help your organisation avoid the worst outcomes of an attack.

Implementing a Zero Trust data security approach, good cyber security hygiene protocols and leveraging the most innovative and responsive technology will go a long way to protecting your organisation against cyber attacks and ensuring your data isn’t vulnerable. That’s a strategy we can all sign up to.

This article is sponsored by Rubrik.