Avoid a Breach – 5 Tips to Secure Data Access
David Shephard, Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific and
Japan (APJ), Bitglass
Japan (APJ), Bitglass
 |
| David Shephard, VP Sales, APJ, Bitglass |
Singapore is migrating to the cloud more quickly than nearly every other country in
Southeast Asia. Through various initiatives, the Singaporean government is attempting to persuade more businesses and organisations to move away from the
traditional, on-premises-only methods of performing work. To secure the
country’s position as an advanced, technological nation, this migration is crucial.
Southeast Asia. Through various initiatives, the Singaporean government is attempting to persuade more businesses and organisations to move away from the
traditional, on-premises-only methods of performing work. To secure the
country’s position as an advanced, technological nation, this migration is crucial.
The cloud is
an incredibly helpful tool that can improve productivity, flexibility, and cost
savings. However, it can be challenging to ensure that data in the cloud is
stored and accessed securely. As such, organisations need to employ the below best practices for secure data access when they make use of applications like Salesforce, Office 365, and more.
an incredibly helpful tool that can improve productivity, flexibility, and cost
savings. However, it can be challenging to ensure that data in the cloud is
stored and accessed securely. As such, organisations need to employ the below best practices for secure data access when they make use of applications like Salesforce, Office 365, and more.
- Use secure passwords
Many employees
use a single unsecured password across personal and corporate accounts.
Unfortunately, this practice makes it significantly easier for nefarious parties to steal corporate information wherever these
unfit passwords are used. Because of this, organisations should require unique
passwords of sufficient length and complexity for each of a user’s SaaS accounts. Additionally, requiring employees to change their passwords regularly –
perhaps every other month – can provide an additional layer of security. - Authenticate all users
Credential
compromise is a large threat to the enterprise – corporate usernames and passwords can be leaked by careless employees or stolen by hackers. To address this
threat, organisations should employ multi-factor authentication, a method of verifying that accounts are being used by their true owners. In
other words, organisations should require a second level of authentication (beyond
a mere password) before allowing access to sensitive data. This may occur
through an email, a text message, or a hardware token (a unique physical item
carried by each user). - Secure unmanaged mobile devices
The rise of BYOD (bring your own device) has enabled employees to access corporate data from their personal
mobile devices. While this increases productivity and flexibility, it also
exposes the enterprise to new dangers. As such, organisations must secure BYOD, but do so with a tool that is simple to deploy and doesn’t harm device
functionality or user privacy. This can only be accomplished through data-centric, agentless solutions – not mobile device management (MDM). With agentless security, organisations can protect data on unmanaged
mobile devices in a timely, thorough, non-invasive fashion. - Take a proactive approach to security
As organisations
move their data to the cloud, they often fail to monitor and protect it
accordingly. They tend to adopt after-the-fact security that can allow months of data
exfiltration before detecting threats or enabling remediation. In a world with regulatory compliance penalties, well-informed consumers, and
hackers who can steal massive amounts of data in an instant, reactive security tools are no longer adequate. Instead, organisations must adopt proactive cloud security platforms that enable real-time detection of malicious activity. Failing to utilise such solutions can prove disastrous for an organisation’s security, finances, reputation, and livelihood. - Defend against malware
Because of the multitude of cloud apps and devices that store, upload, and download corporate data, malware can now attack the enterprise in more ways than ever before. For example, if an employee uses a personal device to upload a contaminated file to the
cloud, the infection can quickly spread to connected apps or other users who
download said file. Today, organisations need to deploy anti-malware tools that can detect threats at upload, threats at download, and threats already at rest within cloud applications. Defences must lie in wait wherever data
goes.
Now What?
For Singapore
to become a cloud-first nation, a number of steps must be taken. Singaporean businesses and government agencies need to enable BYOD, understand the repercussions
of breaches, adopt advanced cloud security solutions, and more. If the country is to solidify its place as a technological leader on the global stage, public and private organisations alike must make the journey to the
cloud and take advantage of the above security tips.
to become a cloud-first nation, a number of steps must be taken. Singaporean businesses and government agencies need to enable BYOD, understand the repercussions
of breaches, adopt advanced cloud security solutions, and more. If the country is to solidify its place as a technological leader on the global stage, public and private organisations alike must make the journey to the
cloud and take advantage of the above security tips.
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