Engineers are an asset to every SaaS company, and data has become a company’s most essential and vulnerable asset as businesses adapt to our increasingly data-driven business world. Professionals in the field of security engineering guard computer and networking systems from prospective hackers and online assaults.
Security technology flaws have become more complex in recent times, and jobs in information security are in demand. Data breaches destroy your credibility regarding information security and result in a substantial financial loss that doesn’t end even after a resolution to the issue. The company may have to pay hefty fines due to regulatory policies like those under the EU’S GDPR.
Data security, privacy, and compliance are now more critical than ever. Although data is generated and used throughout all areas of a business, engineers are the ones that handle it the closest. Empower engineers and equip them to protect their data in transit, at rest, or being examined by outside technologies.
This blog will discuss possible data security risks and how security engineers can better manage and minimize them.
Different Kinds of Data Security Risks
There are majorly three kinds of security risks, as addressed as follows:
Malware:
Adware, viruses, and worms are just a few examples of the many types of harmful software that fall under the umbrella term “malware.” Although different malware types employ diverse techniques, they always aim to disrupt, harm, or gain unauthorized access to a computer system. Ransomware, or software that digitally encrypts your equipment until a ransom is paid, typically in bitcoin, is the most destructive type of malware.
Insider Threats:
Businesses can’t just rely on their staff to follow safe data privacy policies to reduce security threats. Malicious insiders, often known as turncloaks, are evil actors who operate within a company and either steal or destroy sensitive data by taking advantage of security flaws or procedures. Though malicious threats from inside the organization are infrequent compared to ransomware attacks, they tend to be far more expensive.
Accidental Data Loss:
Although if an employee isn’t intentionally damaging your business, they could do so. In addition to unintentionally downloading malware or falling victim to phishing scams, employees may unintentionally erase data.
A memorable example of this is the deletion of Toy Story 2 from Pixar servers in 1998 owing to an accidental command entry. The supervising technical director had a copy at home and fortunately saved the developing animation firm’s picture and future. The reason why most companies back up their data to the cloud is to prevent accidental data loss.
Now, what can engineers do to stay on top of privacy concerns? Let’s explore the options.
Four Ways Engineers can Manage Security Risks:
Most companies won’t have access to a professional in-house privacy expert. If you don’t have access to that resource, you should seek guidance from an expert outside source. Engineers working for startups can and should rely on a designated expert to monitor the regulatory landscape. It is advisable to collaborate with legal counsel to truly understand what regulatory compliance means for your organization and which framework is best applicable.
Protecting customer data is essential, and covering everything may feel overwhelming. To help you top the basics, here are four ways for you to manage and prevent security and analytical failures:
Establish a technical foundation to accommodate new policies:
There’s a good chance that your business already has a fundamental data privacy framework, and maybe you’re in the complicated process of revamping an existing one right now. Your essential technological framework should operate on the premise that you are fully aware of the types of data you have in your possession and where they are located, regardless of the new data regulations that are implemented. This is true irrespective of how they are implemented.
Use the same strategy across your organization:
When offering data rights to consumers, disparate version control systems used by your technical team may cause conflicts or inconsistencies in the code. To reduce unnecessary threats to your company’s data privacy, ensure everyone is using the same schema. A consistent schema will also make it simpler to determine a more precise problem diagnosis should your framework fail an audit.
Use backup options to store data:
Frequent data backups are the most straightforward approach to guarantee that your data and systems can be restored if your data is victim to ransomware, unintentional deletion, or a clumsy coffee spill. Most businesses use third-party products, from CRMs to analytics. Although they have many advantages, they also make your data more vulnerable—therefore, use your options mindfully.
Conduct regular technical and software audits:
Failures in third-party tools or poor system performance that control how data is used, accessed, or deleted can quickly lead to expensive compliance violations. Frequent audits can help you develop efficient failover and incident response procedures and ensure your privacy architecture is battle-ready. Remember, when taking precautions against malware attacks, service interruptions, or power outages, you should be extremely careful, as one mistake may cost you millions of dollars, not to mention your credibility.
Automating Security with Akitra!
Most businesses simply require a single authoritative source that automatically informs them of what they must do and when to meet security and compliance objectives. The era of paper papers and spreadsheets is over—the next decade will predictably see the rise of compliance automation.
Compliance with Akitra!
Establishing trust is a crucial competitive differentiator when courting new SaaS businesses in today’s era of data breaches and compromised privacy. Customers and partners want assurances that the organizations they work with are doing everything possible to prevent disclosing sensitive data and putting them at risk. Compliance certification fills that need.
Akitra offers an industry-leading, AI-powered Compliance Automation platform for SaaS companies. Using automated evidence collection and continuous monitoring, together with a full suite of customizable policies and controls, allows us to help our customers become certified for regulatory frameworks like SOC 1, SOC 2, PCI DSS, ISO 27001, HIPAA, GDPR and NIST 800-53. Our compliance and security experts will also provide the customized guidance you need to navigate the end-to-end compliance process confidently.
The benefits of our solution include enormous savings in time, human resources, and money — including discounted audit fees with our audit firm partners. Customers achieve compliance certification fast and cost-effectively, stay continuously compliant as they grow, and can become certified under additional frameworks using a single compliance automation platform.
Build customer trust. Choose Akitra TODAY!
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