To protect their customer’s sensitive personal data, organizations need a methodology to ensure they can track all of the data stored within their systems by performing data discovery. This enables the organization to create a detailed picture of data owners, storage locations, and security and governance measures implemented. To secure and protect data, organizations must have an insight into their data exposure risk position. The higher the volume of personal sensitive data, the higher the risk to both customers and its brand value. Even a small-scale exposure to highly sensitive data can result in a high impact on data subjects.
What is sensitive data risk?
As the name suggests, personal sensitive data contains data of the highest sensitivity level to the data subject. It includes personal and sensitive information that cannot be disclosed without the data subject’s consent. That is why it is difficult for businesses to keep track of what data is stored where, who the data is shared with, and its purpose. The typical result of being unable to know what data is stored is that businesses can neither pinpoint their exposure levels nor have a clear picture of what they need to do to mitigate it. The fact is that you need to invest a lot of resources in securing your sensitive data to have a safe and secure enterprise that will survive a data breach.
Why does the sensitivity of data matter?
Data sensitivity can change depending on the context of its use, and all elements should be thoroughly assessed and considered. Identifying the business value of each piece of data will allow organizations to prioritize the sensitive data they should hold and which data needs to be protected the most. Organizations need to be aware of the sensitivity of the data they are handling and the threats faced by not implementing appropriate solutions to keep track of the data within their control. Cyber-security tools utilized to fully assess and mitigate risks based on the sensitivity of the data are helpful. How do you implement what is needed to protect your sensitive data? The process of data management requires organizations to identify each data item and quantify its sensitivity and value.
Effect of data exposure on businesses
When assessing the confidentiality of their information, organizations need to know precisely what information is stored on their systems, how it is being used and if it is handled appropriately. An employee’s unauthorized access to such information will jeopardize customer confidence and its reputation if resulting in a data leak. If data is breached, all the brand’s valuable customers will contact the company requesting information regarding the data breach. To ensure the integrity of their data, businesses need to invest in a centralized control solution that can identify such situations quickly and provide answers regarding compliance with data protection. Due to its high value, all the sensitive data stored within a company can be misused directly or indirectly.
Data protection solutions for organizations
Effective data protection solutions can minimize risks and assist organizations with minimizing the impact of data leaks on their customers and business reputation. Some of the benefits organizations can gain from data protection solutions (DPS) are:
- Fully mitigate risks associated with sensitive data exposures in a proactive manner
- Maintain control and enhance security
- Eliminate unneeded administrative activities
- Boost productivity
- Build trust with your customers
- Take advantage of the latest software tools to protect your business and data.
To enhance cybersecurity, leading companies are increasingly incorporating security solutions in their IT infrastructure.
Conclusion
Organizations of all sizes need to be aware of the risks involved in handling highly sensitive personal data, tracking data movements, and regularly assessing their systems and processing activities against risk. Organizations can protect their sensitive data by utilizing security features such as encryption and implementing strict access controls to the data, ensuring data protection whilst maintaining system integrity. Click here to find out more about Formiti Services