Technology has opened new doors for business profits, but it’s also increased data breaches. Data breaches have become a threat to all industries, affecting security and reputations worldwide.
In 2024, the average cost of a data breach rose 10% to reach $4.88 million. These breaches expose millions of records, potentially leading to financial losses and legal concerns. As cyber attackers continue to refine their strategies, data centers, governments, tech companies and other groups must be prepared to combat these threats. Understanding how to prevent a data breach in your company can help you avoid expensive mistakes.
What Is a Data Breach?
A data breach is a security incident caused by unauthorized individuals accessing your confidential or protected information. While there are many methods for attempting data breaches, they all aim to get information. Everything from consumer data and Social Security numbers to private intellectual property is at risk of a breach. Once attackers or insiders have this data, they might leak, ransom or misuse it.
What Are the Causes of Data Breaches?
Data breaches happen when someone who shouldn’t have access to your data gets access. It can be a deliberate attack or an exposed security measure. Regardless, the outcome is the same — compromised data. Data breaches can result from:
- Cyberattacks: Attackers will use phishing, hacking and ransomware to get into your systems and steal data.
- Weak security: Poor security measures expose your company to data breaches. Watch out for weak passwords, poor encryption and outdated software. These issues can make you vulnerable to threats.
- Insider threats: Employees or contractors with access to information can steal data or accidentally cause breaches.
- Third-party holes: Your suppliers and partners can also cause data breaches. If their security measures are weak, attackers might get your data through your third-party contract.
- Physical theft: Smartphones, hard drives and laptops with data access can be stolen or lost, leading to unauthorized access.
How to Prevent Data Breaches
With so many potential causes, how do companies avoid data breaches? Preventing data breaches means investing in proactive security strategies. Prevention is multi-layered and focused on creating a comprehensive defense. Businesses must use strong security protocols, tools and training to combat ever-changing cyber threats. Here’s how organizations can tackle their data breach risks:
1. Improve Data Disposal
It’s common to think deleting files and wiping drives clears your data. In fact, data is still recoverable after these steps. Organizations should invest in proper data disposal to protect sensitive information. Physical data destruction is one of the most effective strategies for preventing breaches.
Invest in high-quality hard disk drive (HDD) destroyers and solid state drive (SSD) disintegrators. These tools ensure the total destruction of storage devices, unlike trying to break them with a hammer. Use machines built with National Security Agency (NSA) guidelines in mind to keep your data disposal effective and compliant. Phiston Technologies carries top solutions for secure data destruction. Choose the High Thru-Put SSD Destroyer for high-volume destruction or the SSD Disintegrator 2C — the only SSD destroyer with an auto-loader. Other solutions, like the Combo Destroyer or the A2 Destroyer, can handle both HDDs and SSDs, giving you flexible security.
2. Establish Strong Access Controls
Access controls restrict who can access data. Giving everyone access to all your data opens businesses up to data breaches. Instead, provide data access only to those who need it. For extra security, multi-factor authentication (MFA) should be on all accounts. Additionally, it monitors user activity to detect and stop unauthorized access attempts.
3. Encrypt Sensitive Data
Data encryption converts data into scrambled information. Only users with the encryption key can unscramble and read that data. Businesses should encrypt transit and stored data to prevent anyone from reading intercepted data. Even if attackers manage to access your data, they can’t read or use it.
4. Regularly Update Systems
As technology moves forward, attackers find weaknesses in software. Regular system updates with patch management ensure all your software, systems and firmware are as up to date as possible. They’ll have the latest security features, keeping intruders out. Automate updates to keep everything protected — this prevents employees from forgetting to update their equipment and leaving weak points.
5. Monitor Networks
Network monitoring also helps your operation stay proactive. Real-time network monitoring ensures you have a bird’s-eye view over data access, letting you know who’s accessing what and when. Implement intrusion detection systems (IDS) and security and event management (SIEM) software to help detect and mitigate threats early.
6. Invest in Employees
Security officers still identify human error as the biggest risk to an organization’s cybersecurity. Phishing attacks take advantage of employees’ desire to trust emails, while weak passwords let threat actors access data more easily. To protect your data, it’s essential to educate your employees on effective cybersecurity practices. Once they know how to spot threats and follow security procedures, they can act as part of your defenses.
How Should Companies Handle Data Breaches?
While prevention is your best protection against data breaches, they can still happen. Over 422 million data records were leaked in data breaches in the third quarter of 2024 alone. Preventing will reduce your risk, but what should IT specialists do when the worst happens? It’s essential to act swiftly to minimize damage. Follow these steps to contain your data breach:
1. Identify and Contain
The first step in handling a breach is finding and containing the source. Isolate any affected systems to prevent additional data loss. You might need to disconnect compromised devices or revoke access. Once you’ve shut down the breached areas, you need to start analyzing the data breach to prevent it from happening again.
2. Assess
After containment comes assessment. What data was accessed and compromised? Were private records, like financial or proprietary information, accessed? Identify affected parties — clients, partners and employees. To begin moving forward, you need to understand how much data was compromised and who was affected.
3. Notify
Next, notify the required parties. Depending on your industry, you should inform law enforcement, affected parties and regulatory bodies. The faster and more transparent you are, the more trust you maintain with relevant groups. This transparency protects a business’s reputation, helping it get back on its feet faster.
4. Strengthen
Organizations need to conduct a security audit after addressing a breach and notifying relevant groups. Audits identify weak points, helping to shore up security once again. This might involve updating security protocols, limiting access, investing in encryption and retraining employees. Other measures like data bins and hard drive scanners make it easier to log and secure data on its way to disposal.
5. Prepare
Use the data breach as a learning opportunity. Businesses can refine their cybersecurity strategies based on the results of their breach audit. Update incident response plans and start testing for vulnerabilities more regularly. Always securely destroy data to avoid regulatory issues and future leaks. With better long-term prevention strategies, you’ll keep data safe.
Secure Your Data With Phiston Technologies
When it comes to protecting your business from data breaches, secure physical destruction is the one solution that ensures total elimination. Phiston Technologies’ industry-leading data destruction machines provide unmatched security and efficiency — keeping your sensitive data completely irretrievable. Our solutions shred media down to 2mm by 2mm, meeting strict destruction regulations. We also offer customized solutions. Get products tailored to your business’s needs and enjoy our white glove service for setup and installation.
Choose Phiston Technologies for reliable support and security. All of our machines come with a one-year warranty and 24/7 customer service. Don’t take risks with data destruction. Get your quote online and start protecting your business today!
