We practically depend on technology nowadays to make every single purchase, and most of us are doing everything we possibly can online, as it makes things easier and more convenient. While technology has brought about some great benefits in this regard, allowing us to shop and perform all kinds of transactions and actions more easily, it has also brought certain risks with it. Protecting your digital privacy, thus, has become a rather significant task for individuals and businesses alike, and you can and should read more on how to do that.
What happens if you’re not well protected, or perhaps if the companies you’re doing business with aren’t well protected? Data breaches. Those can have a significantly negative impact on you, regardless of whether you’re an individual worrying about your own data or a company owner worrying about not only your info but the info of your clients.
Understanding the importance of staying protected against data breaches and learning how to do it is certainly a must, so that’s what we’ll help you do right now.
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Importance Of Data Breach Protection & How To Do It
But First, What Are Data Breaches?
First, though, we’ll have to ensure you understand what a data breach is. Basically, this is a cyber-attack during which sensitive information is stolen and taken from certain systems without authorization, and even without the knowledge, of the owners of those systems. Individuals and organizations can both be targeted by cybercriminals, so the consequences of the attack can stem from stealing a password to log into a particular account to stealing the credit card info of millions and millions of consumers.
Financial gains are the number one goal of those cyber criminals, and they use the data not only to drain credit cards and withdraw funds from bank accounts but also to sell it to third parties, thus earning a profit.
Data breaches occur due to the vulnerability within a system of an organization, through an individual attack, or by employees making errors and not knowing how to keep the information safe. Applying for new credit cards, applying for loans, tax refunds and government aid are only some of the consequences of data breaches.
Why Is Data Breach Protection Important?
Knowing the potential risks associated with data breaches facilitates a better understanding of the importance of implementing effective data breach protection measures. Not keeping your information safe can lead to numerous types of attacks that could leave you in huge trouble, losing access to your accounts and having someone else do with them as they please, and most likely use them for financial gains.
Identity thefts and the thefts of intellectual property are also among the negative consequences. Both for individuals and organizations.
As an individual, you have to do everything in your power to keep your information well protected, so as not to wind up having huge financial losses due to breaches that you haven’t expected. Being vulnerable to these attacks makes you a great target for cybercriminals. And, the same goes for companies as well.
It’s just that the companies carry much higher risks and will face even bigger consequences than individuals, given that they have more data to save, including their own and the sensitive info of all of their customers. This makes them more important targets, but individuals need to be protected as well.
How To Stay Protected?
Understanding you have to be protected is one thing, but actually staying protected is a completely different thing. Hoping that you won’t become the victim of these attacks and not taking any concrete steps towards decreasing your vulnerability and minimizing your risks won’t exactly do the trick, and it would be quite irresponsible, especially if you’re running an organization, thus obligated to safeguard much more information than an individual. Learning how to stay protected is a must, and I’ll know to give you a few tips on how to do it.
Creating strong and unique passwords for any and all accounts you have is the first crucial step toward safeguarding your data. Upper and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols should be parts of your passwords, and making them as unique as possible is a must.
Downloading a trusted password manager or simply writing all of them down and keeping them in a safe place can help you avoid forgetting the passwords when you need them.
If a breach already occurred, though, you’ll have to know how to act next: https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/finance/how-to-protect-yourself-after-data-breach
Enabling two-factor authentication is another method for safeguarding your accounts. Apart from that, you should regularly review your credit card reports and monitor your transactions to identify any anomalies and act quickly should something happen.
Keeping your software up to date and being extremely careful when clicking on certain links or downloading files are also important steps toward staying protected against data breaches, so make sure always to remember them and act with caution in every digital situation. If you need help implementing these tips, a managed IT service provider can assist you.