Data leaks are not just temporary glitches in your system – they have the potential to cause major business process catastrophies leading to financial losses, reputational damage, and theft of client and confidential information to list a few. Governments, business entities, and individuals can experience severe losses when their sensitive information is exposed. As the world tries to grapple with the effects of the COVID pandemic, most people are now used to working from their homes where they access and use software applications and databases through their home network. Such a situation has increased the chances of security breaches and data leaks. This kind of situation has left many companies and individuals vulnerable. Hence, it has become much more critical than ever before to design and implement secure systems to prevent data leaks.
What are data leaks?
Data leaks occur when sensitive and confidential information remains exposed to unauthorized individual or entity. Files, folders, databases, and applications in the data leak are shared and viewed without permission. If you think you are immune to data leaks, then think again as government entities, individuals, companies, and enterprises with a large pool of resources that are capable of preventing such instances are still vulnerable to such leaks. Anyone who is not protected can also leave others at risk of data leaks. The leaks may happen due to compromised technology, outdated infrastructure, and unsafe user behavior. Since most of our computers, smartphones, and other systems are connected through the internet and Bluetooth, there is an increased chance of data breaches through various means. Many IoT devices lack sufficient security capabilities which could act as a gateway to many data breaches over the network.
How do data leaks happen?
Now, there has been a widespread belief that data leaks are caused by external hackers. However, this is not necessarily true all the time. While the intentional breaches caused by external agencies can be a primary reason behind data leaks, there are still certain inherent flaws. These flaws are associated with the technical infrastructure of a company or organization, and oversights by the users. Such kind of flaws leads to data theft or loss.
Here are some of the common factors that can lead to data leaks.
• An insider in the government office or the company can use the computer of a co-worker or a system inside the office. He can read through files without having requisite authorization. Since such access is unintentional, it is considered an instance of data leaks.
• There can also be malicious people working inside the company who are responsible for the data leaks. Such a person intentionally gets access to shares data and related information with the sole intention of causing harm to the company or an individual. While the malicious person working with the company may have legitimate authorization for accessing such data, their intent is not.
• Hackers can make use of different attack vectors for obtaining information from any network device, application or person.
• If a laptop, a phone, or an external hard drive is unencrypted, they become vulnerable to security threats and provide easy access to hackers for stealing sensitive information. Missing devices like these can also compromise the data of an organisation.
Most Common methods for data breaches
Hackers use several different methods to steal data. These include the use of phishing, malware, and brute force attacks among other things.
• Phishing
Phishing attacks deceive you so that you unknowingly disclose private information. More so, the information can be used to cause harm to your organisation.
• Malware
There can be security flaws linked with your hardware or software. The operating system that you use and the servers and networks associated with it can have issues. Any gap in cyber security makes your data exposed and exploited by cybercriminals. Cybercriminals use malware or unpatched systems to breach the network. Malware and Spywares steal your data while remaining hidden and undetected at all times. So, you may not even know that your data is lost until everything has been stolen.
• Brute force attacks
Hackers may use different types of software applications to guess the passwords. While this can take some time and effort, they may use other techniques to speed up the process.
How to prevent data leaks
Specialized strategies should be in place to make sure that data leaks are averted. These security methods should be implemented on multiple levels, starting from the IT professionals to the end-users and everyone in between. Here are some options that help prevent data theft.
Endpoint security
Endpoint security involves securing the endpoints of the end-user devices like smartphones, desktops, tablets, and laptops from being breached by malicious entities and programs. In this way, the endpoint devices connected to a cloud or a network can help protect from data thefts.
Advanced email spam/malware filters
These programs help in detecting email spam used for stealing information from the email accounts accessed by users. They can also filter malware thereby increasing system security.
Regular email phishing training campaigns to create awareness
People working in government offices and companies should be made aware of the dangers of email phishing. Several campaigns are implemented to let them know how they can be safe from such attacks.
Patching the system software
The software and systems must be patched and kept updated at all times so that they do not become vulnerable to cyber-attacks.
Encryption
It is crucial to use high-grade encryption to make sure that all sensitive data stay safe.
Upgrading/Replacing End Of Life (EOL) devices
Computers, servers, software, smarphones, etc need to be replaced as soon as they become obsolete.
Security policies
Companies should implement security policies such as using business-grade VPN along with endpoint/antivirus protection. It will increase system security thereby helping prevent some of the avenues used to attach vulnerable systems to steal data.
Multi-factor authentication
Multi-factor authentication is imperative when it comes to protecting online accounts. Strong passwords and MFA/2fa ensures better protection against cybersecurity threats. Users should be encouraged to use a password manager in order to be able to generate strong and unique passwords in order to greatly enhance the security of online accounts.
Along with the measures described above, the employees in a company must be taught about the best cyber security practices to avoid different types of attacks.
With the widespread prevalence of data leaks, it is essential to build systems that are secure by design in order to protect against data breaches. Contact us to find out more on how Axon Consulting can help you with your cyber security needs.
