Data Leakage: All Your San Jose Business Need To Know

As companies and individuals embrace Information Technology, cloud computing has gained popularity the world over. As a result, cyber security issues are also on the rise and this puts many organizations at risk of data leaks.

While organizations reap huge benefits from cloud computing, there are risks associated with the same. Data storage and accessibility are simplified, making cloud computing a safe way to backup your company’s data and safeguard it from potential hackers.  However, this may not fully prevent data leakage and may expose your data to third parties.

Here, we explore some of the most common issues surrounding data leakage as you get to learn the following:

1. What is data leakage?
2. Causes of data leakage
3. Cost of data leakage
4. Effects of data leakage to your organization
5. How to prevent data leakage
6. How to resolve data leakage issues

What is Data Leakage?

Data leakage occurs when sensitive and confidential data is exposed to third parties either accidentally or unintentionally. Data is transmitted from an organization to an unauthorized recipient and this may take place over the internet, especially when you visit insecure sites, or on cloud computing.

In most cases, data leakage is an inside job where employees grant unauthorized access to sensitive data. Data leakage may be facilitated by an employee with malicious intentions or even occur without the employees’ knowledge. How you treat such an incident is what matters, as failure to take appropriate measures may ruin your future business operations.

Common Causes of Data Leakage

Data leakage has various causes, some of which are preventable. While data leakage may occur in the cloud, it may also be facilitated physically. Employees may transmit information from one device to another through secondary storage devices such as flash drives and hard drives.

Some common causes of data leakage within an organization include:

• Lost or misplaced secondary storage devices or mobile devices such as laptops and smartphones
• Mistakes made by users
• Hackers
• Malicious activities by employees
• Interception of emails as they are being sent to customers, suppliers, or to the organization

The most common cause of data leakage is transmitting data that is not encrypted. When such data lands in the hands of a cybercriminal, it may result in identity theft or fraud. For instance, if sensitive data regarding your customers such as credit card info is leaked, hackers may use it to defraud the company or other customers.  Similarly, if your secondary storage devices get lost or misplaced, malicious people may take advantage of and access confidential information that may compromise the security of your organization’s data.

As companies strive to remain competitive, tech solutions are inevitable. Even though these solutions are expected to boost organizations’ productivity and performance, they also create loopholes for data leakage. They tend to compromise data security, and this makes your data vulnerable to cyber hacks.  However, the challenges associated with these tech solutions can be overcome when appropriate measures to prevent data leaks are put in place.

While data leakage may not be intentional, there are instances when malicious employees may expose your organization’s data to third parties. This can put your organization’s security at risk and also affect the relationship with your customers and business partners.

What Are The Effects Of Data Leakage On Your Organization?

When your employees accidentally or unintentionally leak data to third parties, the effect may be long-term and thus affect your future business opportunities.  You may suffer business loss especially if customers’ data leaks and this can affect your business growth. Some of the effects of a data breach include:

Lost Revenue

If customers realize that their sensitive data has leaked, they may lose trust in your business. As a result, they may stop doing business with you and explore other opportunities that may be more secure. This may be a big blow to any organization as it may affect future business opportunities.

Ruined Organization Reputation

When customers’ information leaks, such customers may no longer want to work with your organization. With a damaged reputation, your organization may appear insecure and this can lead to reduced customer loyalty. This may also affect brand value, which may be hard to reverse.

Operational Downtime

With data leaks, the management may form a commission to look into the matter. While this may be a step closer to solving the problem, it may derail important business operations or even disrupt your entire company’s operations.  This is usually the case if your organization operates a decentralized workstation where workers work remotely.

Cost of Data Breach

Data breaches can be a costly affair that may bring your organization’s operations to a standstill. If not properly checked, data breaches can cost your organization a fortune, such that reviving your business operations becomes almost impossible.

According to CSO, some companies may spend as much as $100 million as they restore their business operations. Both direct and indirect costs, including regulatory fines, can make companies spend a fortune on reviving their business operations after fraud that resulted from data leaks. However, data leaks can be prevented, thus saving your organization the huge cost of having your business suffer the loss.

How Can You Prevent Data Leakage In Your Organization?

To avoid the inconveniences that result from data leakage, it is important that you consider taking a more serious step, such as having managed IT services. This would ensure that confidential and sensitive data remains safe at all times. Here are some of the measures you can take:

CIA Triad

Using the Confidentiality, Integrity, and Authorization (CIA) Triad, you can manage your organization’s IT infrastructure and prevent data leakage.

Multifactor Authentication 

You should employ the multi-factor authentication technique to ensure that unauthorized users cannot access your IT system. Users may be required to verify log in using their mobile phones to reduce the chances of unauthorized access.

Audit Logs and Security Permission Reviews

For improved results, you need to perform frequent audit logs and security permission reviews to ensure that you get a history of all IT activities within your organization. You will also be able to track down any suspicious activities and take appropriate measures.

Data Encryption

Data encryption is necessary as all your confidential data and information will be protected. Also, private conversations will not be exposed to third parties who may use this information to attack your organization.

Compliance Controls

Also, the application of compliance controls may be necessary as this will guide employees and all stakeholders on how to treat organizational data at all times. Most importantly, you should train all your employees on the importance of data security. You should also enact policies that ensure that passwords are not shared as this would reduce the chances of being hacked.

The Takeaway

Although data leakage is common, it can be prevented. You need to take appropriate measures to ensure that employees abide by set rules and organizational policies. While using the multifactor authorization ensures that only authorized users login to your IT system, sharing passwords should not be allowed.

To optimize the security of your IT infrastructure, you may need reinforcement from a third party. At BC Networks, we make this possible and work towards ensuring that you never lose sensitive and confidential data to hackers. For more information on data leakage and how to overcome the challenges, contact us today and talk to our tech experts.