The AT&T data breach is the most recent reminder of how vulnerabilities can compromise the integrity of our personal and corporate data. As we become more interconnected, reliable data security has never been such an urgent need. A recent poll estimates that one out of three people have been victimized by online fraud and cybercrime.
It is not just about data; it is about trust, confidence, and security of the foundation that ensures the flourishing of our digital interactions and emergent innovations.
To understand whether your company data is safe, the Fullcast team encourages our customers to ask the following five questions:
1. How Is Sensitive Data Protected?
Why It Matters: Ensuring that sensitive data is adequately protected prevents unauthorized access and breaches.
Fullcast uses robust encryption methods to protect sensitive data both at rest and in transit. This ensures that data remains unreadable to unauthorized users, mitigating the risk of interception or data breaches.
2. Who Has Access to the Data?
Why It Matters: Controlling access to data minimizes the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.
Verizon’s 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report found that human error has a major impact on data security. The findings show that 68 percent of analyzed data breaches included a “non-malicious human element,” such as insider errors or social engineering schemes. This research reinforces the importance of pairing user education with security-minded behavior.
Fullcast implements strategic access controls based on the principle of least privilege. This means that only authorized personnel have access to specific data and functionalities, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and insider threats.
3. How Often Are Security Audits and Vulnerability Assessments Conducted?
Why It Matters: Regular security audits and vulnerability assessments help identify and address potential security weaknesses before they can be exploited.
Fullcast conducts regular security audits and vulnerability assessments to promptly identify and address potential security weaknesses. This proactive approach helps maintain the integrity and security of customer data.
4. What Incident Response Plans Are in Place?
Why It Matters: Despite our best intentions, bad things can happen, so having a well-defined and tested incident response plan ensures that your organization can quickly and effectively respond to data breaches or other security incidents.
Fullcast complies with relevant data protection regulations and industry standards. This includes GDPR, CCPA, and other regional data privacy laws, ensuring that customer data is handled with the highest level of legal compliance and integrity.
5. How Is Data Backup and Recovery Managed?
Why It Matters: Regular data backups and effective recovery procedures are essential for minimizing data loss and ensuring business continuity in the event of a disaster.
“The most essential requirement of a cybersecurity program is to ensure that risk, threats, and controls are communicated and reported in a consistent manner. This requires audits to help the organization create a common risk language,” says Chad Martin, group product manager for Coalfire Systems, Inc. “Audit teams need to adopt standardized libraries of risk factors and controls, enabled by technology that make it simple to aggregate, communicate and analyze security data.” He recommends that companies have a centralized data repository where audit and IT teams can easily maintain, access, and share crucial data.
In a nutshell, the more frequently teams can conduct audits, the better. However, it also depends on the nature of your customer’s business, the sensitivity of the data, and regulatory requirements. Most organizations should perform at least one annual security audit, but businesses that handle sensitive information may need to audit more frequently.
As we’ve learned from the headlines, you never know how secure your data is until it isn’t. By asking these five questions and thoroughly evaluating the responses, companies can understand their current data security posture and identify areas for improvement. Still have questions? We can help!
