Intelligent CIO Europe Issue 63 | Page 45

FEATURE : DATA MANAGEMENT
resilience into the fibre of an organisation . While it is impossible to totally remove the risk of a breach , cyber-resilience encourages a solid recovery plan to be put in place in the event of one . To create a true information advantage , establishing an integrated data management strategy will also help businesses differentiate themselves in the marketplace .
“ Customer trust is fragile and Data Privacy Day is an opportunity for organisations to reflect on their practices – to ensure they are doing all that they can to respect privacy rights , safeguard their customer ’ s personal data and maintain their loyalty .”
Candid West , VP of Cyber Protection Research at Acronis
However , Candid West , VP of Cyber Protection Research at Acronis , believes that while data protection remains a hot topic , it is one that needs a collective approach towards reducing data breaches and cyberattacks . As the world becomes more dependent on data , scores of organisations are increasingly becoming targets with some falling victim to breaches worth millions of dollars .
“ Some of the most recent data breach cases occur after cyberattackers gain access through an API . This is a trend that has emerged even as more companies increasingly shift their data management strategy to primarily used cloud storage and applications . As organisations integrate cloud2cloud interconnections , complexity in deployment continues to grow too . This is because most companies still need to be equipped to deal with imminent cyberattacks thanks to misconfigured or insufficient protection for their APIs .
“ A crucial point worth raising is that ransomware has already shifted to stealing and exfiltrating data in recent years . Attackers know that having this data and threatening to release it can be more devastating than encryption , which can be fought with backups . The most effective way to deal with such threats is adopting a holistic view and a solution like data loss prevention , which can significantly help potential targets mitigate the risks .
“ Passwords remain the number one defence when it comes to protecting data . As an authentication mechanism , a strong password is what stands between an organisation ’ s valuable data and millions of dollars in losses , not to mention a bad reputation . Sadly , we still see many companies with authentications ( A . K . A . passwords like 123456 ) and no Multi-Factor Authentication ( MFA ) applied – this is a disaster waiting to happen .” p
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