It is imperative to understand important cornerstones of cyber security to ensure your organization is least vulnerable to growing cyber-attacks.

Information and data is the lifeline of any business today. From details of your employees to your clients and products, every business detail is in data. Any data theft can not only leave you vulnerable but can also mean clients no longer trust their data with you putting you out of business. It is therefore paramount for enterprises to have cyber security checks in place and be ready for any such data theft attempt. A well devised cyber security plan should be based on the following 4 core pillars ensuring data safety.

Pillar I: Policies and Planning

Without right policies in place it is difficult to allot the right budget towards cyber security.

The first pillar of having an efficient cyber security is to ensure there is a clear defined cyber security policy in place detailing all aspects.Policies and procedures define how to apply various technological security solutions effectively. With a clearly defined policy, enterprises will not run the risk of low budgets for cyber security or cyber analytics.

An ideal security policy should have a defined risk-versus-cost rule that can be applied to other policies and procedures within the enterprise. A policy need not define the technology to be used as technologies keep on changing and getting refined with time. Some enterprises have even adopted multiple security policies, one for every segment or division as per the risk factors of the enterprise and its domain.

Pillar II: Use of Technology and Vigilant in-house Security

Technology experts should come into play to choose the right set of tools to safeguard organization from any sort cyber breach.

Once an organization has a security policy in place, the next step involves looking for an appropriate technology for its security needs. Technology assessment may require the role of cyber security and cyber analytics experts to look for the best tools available. A decision on the use of adequate tools like processes for identification of users, systems, hardware, access control, data encryptions, firewalls, virus protection programs etc all come under the purview of technology.

Technology based cyber security tools are proactive as they are constantly monitoring for any change in the normal functionality of processes. On the downside, they can be accessed by hackers. Just one small entry into the security systems or a small breach can be enough to trigger a shutdown of such safety tools. Technology tools require constant monitoring and a vigilant in-house team of security experts to ensure all around data protection.

Pillar III: Employee Education and Awareness

Well informed employees can help organizations tap the full potential of security policies and technologies.

An enterprise may have the right security policy in place and the right technology being used but unless the human resource is aware and motivated it may all come to nothing. Educating and spreading cyber security and cyber analytics associated awareness is therefore another significant pillar for security.

Educating the employees on recognizing the ‘bad’ by offering real time information sharing can go a long way in keeping risks at bay. Fraudulent emails, phishing and opening of unwanted email attachments continue to be major reasons allowing entry or access to hackers. With an employee awareness drive, such behavior can be controlled resulting in better security analytics in place.

The recently infamous crypto malware or ransomware ‘Wannacry’ is a typical example of a data breach that had its roots in the opening of malicious email attachments. Here the the need of cyber security specialists increases to protect the data from hackers By keeping the employees aware and educated on cyber security aspects, an enterprise can minimize its security risks substantially.

Pillar IV: Backup and Disaster Recovery

As no brainer as it sounds, it is most relevant in today’s time of growing cyber-attacks.

As a last line of defense against any data attack, your enterprise must have a good business continuity and disaster recovery solution in place. Having copies of data stored in multiple locations that are off-site and backed up hourly every single day should be encouraged.

Ensure your data recovery and business development solution provider offers adequate and regular backup check on the recoverability of the data. Stimulate a worst case scenario by shutting off your server and seeking data backup to ensure you are always ready for any data breach eventuality. Stimulation can also ensure there is no panic and every employee knows their role during any cyber attack to ensure minimal downtime and affect on important data and services.

Conclusion: Cyber security is today an essential part of any enterprise functionality. No matter how big or small, every enterprise is vulnerable. By following the four security pillars, an organization can keep its security structure in place to minimize such threats.