Data is the lifeblood of every business, allowing it to function efficiently and profitably. But businesses have to balance the need for available and abundant data with the need to keep customer information secure and private. The GDPR in Europe and California’s CCPA are driving this issue as well as long-standing laws such as the Health Insurance Portability is malwarebytes safe and Accountability Act and Securities and Exchange Commission rules that protect financial data of shareholders and the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.

To protect your data, the first step is to categorize all your data and protect it. This includes identifying and classifying data according to its sensitivity and determining access levels. It is crucial to implement guidelines to protect data whether it is in transit or in rest. Using a tool which can monitor and detect file activity and spot anomalous patterns can help you identify suspicious activities and swiftly identify and eliminate vulnerabilities, such as outdated software and configurations.

A complete backup and recovery plan that includes physical storage media is vital. In addition, it’s essential to enforce meaningful security measures such as background checks on hiring candidates and regular training for existing employees to the decision to terminate employees who no longer require access to the critical systems. Additionally, it’s crucial to create a disaster recovery plan to ensure that your data is secured in the event of a natural or human-caused catastrophe.