DATA SECURITY STRATEGIES
Why All Departments Are Now Cyber Security Departments
9 MIN READ
The game has changed. We’ve entered the age of open collaboration.
We’re in a new era of work. What used to be locked down tightly is now free-floating, collaborative and accessible everywhere.
We’ve gone from using on-premise, off-a-disk software to using cloud everything.
You’ve felt it – this change is powerful. It’s a force of business that’s allowing for previously-unseen levels of digital agility, collaboration and rapid innovation. A “new era” isn’t overselling it.
However, the rise of the digital collaboration culture comes with its own unique risks. We need to consider the threats that come with having our most valuable data so unhindered, so freely available, so easily accessible. Your files are out there — and so are the people looking to use them for personal gain. We need to protect this new workplace ecology with a new cyber security paradigm — one that involves HR, IT and legal. Let’s break it down.
Despite the essential need to be on the cusp of novelty, most modern data security stacks are currently unequipped to deal with a whole new subset of threat: the insider threat.
Insider threat has three main forms
- The departing employee: A soon-to-be-ex-employee who takes valuable data or IP with them on their way out.
- The policy-breaker: An employee who is sticking around the organization – but has self-serving plans for your company’s digital assets.
- The mistake-maker: An innocent, well-meaning employee who inadvertently lets your data leak, making for a costly mistake.
Internal data leaks aren’t necessarily one-and-done isolated incidents. They can also look like patterns of activity that occur over time. For example, someone exporting your entire customer list over a few weeks is a lot less obvious than someone downloading a 500GB ZIP file – and it’s just as damaging to your company. These leaks can easily slip by unnoticed for months if your security team isn’t ready and equipped to detect and respond immediately.
This type of data loss is becoming increasingly common. 94% of the top ASX-listed companies and government bodies have been exposed to an internal data leakage in the last year.
The old ways alone aren’t enough. Traditional DLP tools were made for a world where files stayed put. Today, they fly in and out of your door every time your staff comes in and leaves for the day. Or an even easier option to avoid any prying eyes – moving files while working remotely.
The digital collaborative era needs collaborative efforts to protect it.
This only works if the people of your company help defend it. So – what can you do to help protect your customers, employees and investors?
Let’s take a look at the impact your department can have on protecting against the new angles of threat that come with our new way of working. HR, IT and legal each have unique ways they can contribute to protecting their company against insider threat, and don’t worry — most of these build on things you’re already doing.
Interweaving HR and data security
HR is hugely important to data security in the new era of work. Your position at the front lines gives you an essential role in protecting collaboration and you have the power to significantly mitigate internal threats. Even though insider threats stem from your employees, it’s important to not let a few bad apples spoil the bunch. The last thing you want is a witch-hunt atmosphere. This is about preserving the good in your company, not just about nabbing shifty-eyed Jim from the elevator.
We know you’re busy. Thankfully, helping out doesn’t require clearing your schedule. Here are a few quick, effective, security-oriented tweaks that can go a long way in securing your company’s work.
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