Cisco report shows that 50% of organizations with more than 10,000 employees spend $1 million or more on cybersecurity per year. 43% invest between $250,000 and $999,999, while the remaining 7% invest less than $250,000. Investing in information security is the key to protecting corporate and client data.

Determine what data you need to protect Organizations collect data on different devices. Information comes through the website, from call centers, from contractors and clients. When monitoring data security, every component of a complex system needs to be considered. These questions will help you make a list of valuable information..

Who provides you with personal data (customers, banks, credit companies, sponsors, job seekers, company employees, entrepreneurs from friendly organizations, competitors)?

How information comes to you? You use the site, e-mail and traditional mail, or you have access to customer profiles?

What does the information gathering process look like Whether data is retained by individuals who collect personal information?

Where do you store data? In computer databases, cloud storages, on laptops, smartphones, at employees' homes?

Who has access to information?

Save only important information Let's imagine a situation. You have combined customer data into one file, including transaction details. Did you know that storing too much data is risky? It's better to delete information you don't use.. If the data is not in the system, hackers will not use it.

Good Practice - Minimize Data Access. Follow the principle of least privilege: make sure that each employee has access only to those resources that are really needed for work.

Protect electronic information Most of the workflow occurs electronically. To assess network security, make a list of all connections where personal data is stored (Internet, electronic cash register, laptops in offices, PCs of service providers for network support, scanners, wireless devices). Invite cybersecurity experts to audit every element.

Encrypt personal data you send to third parties over the Internet. Use cryptography to hide traffic from unauthorized users. And if you apply end-to-end encryption, only the sender and recipient will read the information. This technology underlies the operation of a virtual private network.. By default, VPN passes traffic through a secure tunnel, ensuring the security of personal data.

Use TLS encryption for secure online transfers with credit cards.

Pay attention to web application security. Hackers can embed commands into the application that look like official requests for information. By logging into the system, hackers send personal data from the corporate network to their own computers. To prevent an attack, update all software regularly, install patches. It is also a good idea to validate user-supplied inputs, including drop-down lists or radio buttons, and not just fields where users are required to enter text.. Ensure that error notifications on the server and in the code are not sent to the client web browser. After all, hackers can use these technical details to inject a request.