Safeguarding Your Business Data: A 10-Step Guide for Proactive Protection. Includes Global + Australian References!!
Just like you protect your physical assets such as your home, securing your business data is critical to protecting your clients and your company. In the digital age, data is the lifeblood of any business. Protecting it isn't just a good practice; it's essential for maintaining client trust, ensuring operational continuity, and safeguarding your company's reputation. Use our 10-Step Guide to self-assess your current security practices and identify any vulnerabilities.
Securing your data is equivalent to securing your premises
1. Consider Security Standards as your starting point
Think of these standards as the industry-recognised best practices for establishing a robust security framework.
Are you aware of the security standards and regulations that your organisation needs to abide by and the implications should there be (for example), a data breach within your company? Listed below are some of the legislations that can be used to guide you as your starting point:
Global
ISO/IEC 27001: This international standard provides a comprehensive framework for establishing, implementing, maintaining, and continually improving an information security management system (ISMS).
NIST Cybersecurity Framework: Developed by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology but widely used globally, this framework offers a flexible and adaptable approach to managing cybersecurity risks.
Australia
Essential 8 Compliance Framework: Developed by the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD), The Essential Eight has been designed to protect organisations’ internet-connected information technology networks.
Australian Energy Sector Cyber Security Framework (AESCSF): Categorised into 11 Domains and designed to assess and enhance the cybersecurity maturity of organisations within Australia's energy sector. It aims to protect critical infrastructure and ensure the secure and reliable supply of energy, which is vital for the country's economic stability and national security.
Singapore
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) TRM Guidelines: Provides a comprehensive set of risk management guidelines for financial institutions in Singapore, covering various aspects of technology risk.
Cybersecurity Act 2018: Provides a framework for the oversight and maintenance of national cybersecurity in Singapore.
Start with a gap analysis to assess your current security controls against the relevant standards that apply. It's like a security health check to identify areas for improvement.
Implementation should not be about just checking boxes to ensure regulatory compliance; the goal should be to foster a security-conscious culture within your organisation.
Need external help to embark on an independent map and gap assessment of your data landscape or just to chat about any problem statements you may have in securing your data? Use the button at the bottom right of your screen to schedule an appointment now!!
2. Ensure Data Privacy Compliance
Data privacy laws are getting stricter every day. It's like walking a tightrope – you need to keep your customers' data safe while still using it to grow your business.
Below are some of the principles to review. Click on the links to learn more…
Global
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation): For companies handling personal data of EU citizens, GDPR mandates strict privacy measures.
Australia
Privacy Act 1988 (Australia): National law that regulates how personal information is handled. This is the foundational legislation shaping Australia's approach to data protection & privacy. Currently in the process of being expanded.
Australian Privacy Principles (APPs): Consisting of 13 principles, the Privacy Act covers Australian Government agencies and organisations with an annual turnover of more than $3 million. However, there are exceptions to this which are covered in detail on the website.
Singapore
Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA): Regulates the collection, use, and disclosure of personal data in Singapore.
Laws and Regulations are sometimes easy to shun away and may seem too theoretical and boring. But think again!! What would be the consequence if your data is hacked? Can you afford the hefty fines? What about corporate image and trust factors?
Recently, I have been using AI Tools like ChatGPT and Gemini to summarise documents and even create infographics and mind maps to make it easier to digest the content. I highly recommend this as a way of streamlining your review process.
Need external help to review your data landscape? Use our contact form to reach out today!!
3. Implement Robust Data Encryption
Encryption is like turning your data into a secret code that only you can crack. It's your first line of defense against hackers. It scrambles your data, making it unreadable without the decryption key.
There are a number of best practice documentation out there which you can refer to when it comes to data encryption. General guideline is to use advanced encryption methods such as AES-256, RSA for both data at rest and in transit. Also, make encryption a standard practice for all sensitive data. Click here for an article from AWS that you may find useful on this subject.
Before going out and engaging external parties, review your existing technology stack and licenses to see if you are already paying for encryption capabilities but not effectively using the technology.
Review the people and process aspects before embarking on full scale technology implementations.
4. Access Control and Identity Management: The Gatekeepers of Your Data
Implementing robust access control and identity management is akin to having vigilant gatekeepers for your digital assets. It ensures that only authorised personnel can access sensitive information, and they do so through secure channels.
This guideline and check does not need too much explanation. Key Question to be asked is “How do you reduce insider threats and limit exposure to external attacks?”
Limit access based on the principle of least privilege (only those who need access should have it).
Consider implementing Role based access control (RBAC) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) as your key pillars to managing access control.
Conduct continuous education and mandatory trainings and refresher courses on this subject across your entire employee population.
5. Regular Security Audits and Vulnerability Assessments: Checkups are Key
Just like you go for regular health checkups, your systems need them too. Security audits and vulnerability scans are like those routine tests that detect problems early.
The key message here is “Don't wait for a breach to happen”. Be proactive and find those vulnerabilities before the bad guys do.
Conduct regular security audits and vulnerability scans to identify and fix potential security gaps.
Consider using a guided questionnaire template with a list of questions that Business and Technology Application Owners should be responsible for completing on a quarterly or half yearly basis.
Consider bringing in a third-party penetration tester once in a while. It's like having a friendly hacker try to break into your system so you can fix the weak spots.
That wraps up our Top 5 steps in Data Security Governance. Before we deep-dive into the remaining steps, I would like to share with you the current blog post in the form of an infographic which can act as a reference for you and your team. To bring the topic of Data Security to life, I believe we need to think out of the box and continue to look at how to get the points up front and centre of the whole company. Feel free to reach out in case you need a customised infographic for your company!!
6. Data Governance Policies: The Rulebook for Your Data
Data governance is like having a set of house rules for your data. It's about knowing where your data is, who's using it, and how it's being handled.
This is one of the most critical steps based on my experiences in the corporate world because it sets the policy, framework, guidelines and tools for different areas of data management. However, it is by the far the most difficult to implement!! For example, try asking your many analysts to use a Business Intelligence Tool integrated to your master data sets instead of Excel Macros. Easier said than done. So how should you approach this?
Sponsorship and commitment from the top - Ensure that all relevant stakeholders are engaged - across business and technology - from both delivery and operations. Each Unit Head needs to understand why you need governance and give their commitment!!
Use an industry framework such as DMBOK - It really helps in communication if everyone in the organisation is educated and aligned to same definitions and terminologies. Click here to learn more.
Implement changes incrementally - using Agile and Hybrid project management approaches. Additionally, create KPIs for ongoing monitoring and demonstrating ROI.
Set clear roles and responsibilities - Data Governance works best when it is business led and not technology led. Clearly defined roles and responsibilities are a must for data governance policies to work effectively.
7. Employee Training and Awareness: Your Human Firewall
Your employees are your first line of defense. But they can also be your weakest link.
Education across your organisation is key to success of any data governance strategy.
Run regular training sessions and simulated phishing attacks to assess and improve employee awareness.
Invite government bodies to share insights on statistics of scams, etc. so everyone is aware of the real threat that data breaches can have on the company bottom line and how it might impact their own jobs security.
8. Incident Response and Recovery: Have a Plan B
No matter how good your security is, there's always a chance something could go wrong.
Don't just have a plan; test it regularly. Make sure everyone knows their role and what to do in case of a breach. It's like practicing an emergency evacuation – you want to be prepared when the alarm goes off.
Proactive monitoring and reporting - Create a list of data metrics for monitoring and regularly communicate progress against those metrics with all key stakeholders for data driven decision making.
9. Third-Party Vendor Security: Trust but Verify
You might be doing everything right, but what about your vendors and partners? They can be a backdoor into your system if they're not secure.
Your organisation's security is only as strong as its weakest link. Third-party vendors and partners can introduce vulnerabilities if their security practices are lax.
Vet third-party vendors and partners to ensure they comply with your security and data protection standards.
Review contracts thoroughly before signing. Have a separate review checklist to help you with this exercise.
Conduct ongoing audits. Focus on areas discussed in this blog. Example - Have you validated that ongoing penetration testing has been done on the vendor tech platform? How about Disaster recovery and planning?
10. Backups and Disaster Recovery: The Safety Net
Backups are like insurance for your data. If something goes wrong, you can restore your data and get back to business.
Regular backups and a well-defined disaster recovery plan are essential for business continuity in the face of unforeseen events.
Regularly back up critical data and have a disaster recovery plan in place. Schedule automatic backups and test recovery procedures periodically to ensure data can be restored quickly in the event of an incident.
Conduct annual Business Continuity Plan exercises involving all key business units, document any adverse findings and follow through to mitigate risks identified during the exercise.
Include a section as part of the Service Delivery and Operations Report to show progress on action items on any findings identified.
Wrapping Up
Data security isn't a one-time thing; it's an ongoing process. It's like staying in shape – you need to keep working at it. But with the right mindset and the right tools, you can protect your business and your customers' data.
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About the Author
Sinclair Hurtis is a seasoned data and analytics professional with 3 decades of experience gained from the ground up in Information Management, Data and Analytics and Workflow Process Automation from strategy through to implementation, service delivery and operations. This experience has been gained in consulting and end user environments. Some of the organisations that he has helped over the years are represented below:
Sinclair is passionate about educating businesses on the importance of data security and empowering them to take proactive measures to safeguard their valuable information.
