by Frontier Business on
The increasing adoption of Software as a Service delivery methods, Cloud hosting, and location-independent work means that old ways of securing—or failing to secure—business data don’t cut it anymore.
In a recent study, IBM revealed that the average cost of a breach in 2016 was $4 million, and the average cost of a single breached record was $158. Data encryption technology will help protect your business from a breach and reduce the aftermath if you are hacked, helping you retain customer confidence and loyalty.
Data Encryption Can Protect Your Business
Data encryption technology dates back thousands of years to cryptology, which is the process of masking text—through encryption—to hide its true meaning. It can only be unmasked using decryption by someone who knows the code.
Savvy organizations can mitigate the risk of a data breach by building incident response teams, participating in threat sharing, and appointing information security officers. In addition to these measures, having a data encryption system is another layer of protection. In fact, the same IBM report revealed that using data encryption technology saved businesses $13 per breached record.
Modern data encryption technology makes it extremely difficult for hackers to access your data. Even if your business’s data is breached, strong encryption tactics will make it nearly impossible for unauthorized users to access and interpret the data without encryption keys.
Encrypting your business’s data better protects proprietary information and helps reduce the risk of exposing sensitive information. In the event of a data breach, this may mitigate potential reputation damage because you took the steps necessary to protect company and consumer data. No defense can stop hackers entirely, but it’s important to recognize the value of the data you manage—and guard it.
How Your Business Can Use Data Encryption
According to IBM’s report, there is a 26% chance that your business will endure a data breach within a two-year period. Whether you’re a large or small business, it’s important that you prepare for a data breach and know what to do if it happens.
Use the following encryption methods to keep your data secure before a breach occurs. And, in the event of a breach, having these protocols in place will help ensure your business is obeying the law and will avoid potential repercussions.
Strong encryption protocols are already in place in most operating systems. For instance, multiple versions of Windows include Bitlocker, and Mac users can encrypt their files and backup drives with FileVault. Alternatively, your business can use a third-party option, like DiskCryptor, or an enterprise-grade encryption tool, such as an IP Virtual Private Network (VPN).
Your business email communication likely includes sensitive data and information. You can have everyone in your company use the encryption settings on Outlook or SecureGmail. Virtru is an email-encryption service that offers a browser add-on. Remember that sensitive email attachments should also be encrypted through password protection or other methods.
While most Cloud services use built-in encryption, make sure you know what level of encryption the Cloud service provider employs. Any Cloud service your company uses should meet the Advanced Encryption Standard, 256-bit encryption. Other encryption and security standards the service uses on top of that should protect your information even more.
Data encryption technology is an extremely important part of any business’s operations. Make sure all of your data and communications are highly encrypted to help you achieve peace of mind for your company and your customers. Along with encryption, explore and implement other affordable, innovative security solutions for your business.
