Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting critical systems and sensitive information from digital attacks. Also known as information technology (IT) security, cybersecurity measures are designed to combat threats against networked systems and applications, whether those threats originate from inside or outside of an organization.
An effective cybersecurity plan needs to be built on multiple layers of protection. Cybersecurity companies provide solutions that integrate seamlessly and ensure a strong defense against cyberattacks.
Employees need to understand data security and the risks they face. This includes the importance of using secure passwords, avoiding clicking links or opening unusual attachments in emails, and backing up their data.
Organizations need a solid framework that helps them define their cybersecurity approach and mitigate a potential attack. It needs to focus on how the organization protects critical systems, detects and responds to a threat, and recovers from an attack.
A cybersecurity solution needs to prevent the risk of vulnerabilities being exploited. This includes protecting all devices, cloud systems, and corporate networks.
Technology is crucial to protecting organizations' devices, networks, and systems. Critical cybersecurity technologies include antivirus software, email security solutions, and next-generation firewalls (NGFWs).
Recent cybersecurity statistics show that organizations face a growing range of threats, including:
Malware is a term that describes malicious software, which attackers use to gain access to networks, infect devices and systems, and steal data. Types of malware include:
Viruses are one of the most common forms of malware. They quickly spread through computer systems to affect performance, corrupt files, and prevent users from accessing the device. Attackers embed malicious code within clean code, often inside an executable file, and wait for users to execute it.
Spyware hides on a computer to track user activity and collect information without their knowledge. This allows attackers to collect sensitive data, such as credit card information, login credentials, and passwords.
Ransomware involves attackers blocking or locking access to data then demanding a fee to restore access. Hackers typically take control of users’ devices and threaten to corrupt, delete, or publish their information unless they pay the ransom fee.
Adware results in unwanted adverts appearing on the user’s screen, typically when they attempt to use a web browser. Adware is often attached to other applications or software, enabling it to install onto a device when users install the legitimate program.
A botnet is a network of devices that have been hijacked by a cyber criminal, who uses it to launch mass attacks, commit data theft, spread malware, and crash servers.
Phishing is an attack vector that directly targets users through email, text, and social messages. Attackers use phishing to pose as a legitimate sender and dupe victims into clicking malicious links and attachments or sending them to spoofed websites. This enables them to steal user data, passwords, credit card data, and account numbers.
Structured Query Language (SQL) injection is used to exploit vulnerabilities in an application’s database. An attack requires the form to allow user-generated SQL to query the database directly. Cyber criminals launch an attack by inserting code into form fields to exploit vulnerabilities in code patterns. If the vulnerability is shared across the application, it can affect every website that uses the same code.
A MITM attack happens when attackers exploit weak web-based protocols to steal data. It enables them to snoop on conversations, steal data being shared between people, impersonate employees, launch bots that generate messages, and even spoof entire communications systems.
A denial-of-service (DoS) attack involves attackers flooding a server with internet traffic to prevent access to websites and services. Some attacks are financially motivated, while others are launched by disgruntled employees.
Information and communications technology (ICT) refers to all the technology used to handle
telecommunications, broadcast media, intelligent building management systems, audiovisual
processing and transmission systems, and network-based control and monitoring functions.
Although ICT is often considered an extended synonym for information technology (IT), its scope
is more broad.
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to store, retrieve, transmit, and manipulate
data, or information, often in the context of a business or other enterprise. IT system is generally
an information system, a communications system or, more specifically speaking, a computer
system – including all hardware, software and peripheral equipment – operated by a limited
group of users. The term is commonly used as a synonym for computers and computer networks,
but it also encompasses other information distribution technologies such as television and
telephones. IT is considered to be a subset of information and communications technology (ICT)
Computer is an electronic device that takes data as an input and processes it under the control of a set of instructions (called program) and then produces a result (output), and all the set is called as computer system.
All general-purpose computers require the following hardware components :
The Basic components of computer system are given below :
Network security appliances are physical devices that connect your digital network to the internet while filtering out malicious content and denying access to unauthorized users.
Firewalls are network security devices that monitor and ‘curate’ network traffic based on a rigid set of rules. A firewall establishes a protective wall between your internal private network and the global internet. As we’ll see soon enough, firewalls can be both software applications and hardware devices. Hardware firewalls can serve multiple purposes along with network protection, like dynamically assigning identifying IP addresses to devices present in the network. Firewalls are used at the ‘boundary’ of a private network to prevent unauthorized access via the internet. All inbound and outbound messages are scanned by the firewall before they can leave or enter the private network. During the scan, the firewall passes the message (also called as network packet) through a security checklist, which is basically a list of rules that qualify a message as safe. Only if a message checks all the boxes, is it allowed to travel forward.
A hardware firewall is a standalone product. They’re connected to devices in the network via ports, of which any given firewall has at least four. Large-scale organizations can opt for higher-end firewall devices with several more ports and advanced security mechanisms.
Software firewalls are programs that you install on your computer. They have configurable options which help you setup your firewall for maximum security. The software monitors all network packets that you upload / download via the internet.
An antivirus is a software program that can detect and remove malware and other threatening software programs. Initially, antivirus programs could combat just viruses. But now, they provide security against worms, Trojans, ransomware and spywares, etc. Some antivirus solutions can also prevent phishing attempts that try to enter via email. Ideally, your network security devices / tools should catch security threats penetrating from any source, and that includes malicious programs as well as malware from the email.
Content filtering devices are used to filter out potentially threatening and offensive online content. This includes incoming emails, constant spam, and even websites. As the name suggests, such devices scans the content of online content and verifies its safety by passing it through its own blacklist of words. Some CFDs can also store well-known spam sites and email domains and warn you ahead of time before you interact with them. These devices throw an “Access Denied” error when anyone tries to access unverified, possibly malicious content. The basic configuration of this network security device blocks pornographic or hateful content. But besides, your organization can also block out product selling spam and unwanted newsletters.
Intrusion Detection Systems, often also called Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems, are devices that monitor malicious activities in a network, create a log of such activities, and if a part of their feature set, take steps to stop them. At the very least, an IDS will provide you with insightful reports about your network activity. Using these reports, you can take actions to better your network security. Active intrusion detection systems (the IDPSs) help in raising alarms if malicious network packets attempt to harm your network, forcefully drop the packets, and reset the network channel connection to prevent your network from blocking all subsequent, valid network traffic. If you’re looking for a security partner that can manage your network security devices and squeeze maximum security from them, look no further.
Internet Services allows us to access huge amount of information such as text, graphics, sound and software over the internet. Following diagram shows the four different categories of Internet Services.
S.N. Service Description
1.Electronic Mail
Used to send electronic message over the internet.
2. Telnet
Used to log on to a remote computer that is attached to internet.
3. Newsgroup
Offers a forum for people to discuss topics of common interests.
4.Internet Relay Chat (IRC)
Allows the people from all over the world to communicate in real time.
5. Mailing Lists
Used to organize group of internet users to share common information through e-mail.
6. Internet Telephony (VoIP)
Allows the internet users to talk across internet to any PC equipped to receive the call.
7. Instant Messaging
Offers real time chat between individuals and group of people. Eg. Yahoo messenger, MSN messenger.
There exist several Information retrieval services offering easy access to information present on the internet. The following table gives a brief introduction to these services:
1. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
Enable the users to transfer files.
2. Archie
It’s updated database of public FTP sites and their content. It helps to search a file by its name.
3. Gopher
Used to search, retrieve, and display documents on remote sites.
4. Very Easy Rodent Oriented Netwide Index to Computer Achieved (VERONICA)
VERONICA is gopher based resource. It allows access to the information resource stored on gopher’s servers.
Web services allow exchange of information between applications on the web. Using web services, applications can easily interact with each other. The web services are offered using concept of Utility Computing. World Wide Web (WWW) WWW is also known as W3. It offers a way to access documents spread over the several servers over the internet. These documents may contain texts, graphics, audio, video, hyperlinks. The hyperlinks allow the users to navigate between the documents.
Video conferencing or Video teleconferencing is a method of communicating by two-way video and audio transmission with help of telecommunication technologies.
Modes of Video Conferencing
Point-to-Point
This mode of conferencing connects two locations only.
Multi-point
This mode of conferencing connects more than two locations through Multi-point Control Unit (MCU).
Mobile app security is the measure and means of defending mobile device apps from digital fraud in the form of malware, hacking, and other criminal manipulation. Mobile app security can be implemented by both technological means alongside personal responses and corporate processes intended to safeguard digital integrity on mobile devices.
Mobile applications generate a tremendous amount of data about us and our lives. So, ensuring apps create and use this information in a secure way is paramount. Otherwise, insecure applications are an easy route for a malicious act to steal and sell your personal information.
In addition, there are other mobile solutions that can deliver significant benefits.Identity verificationhelps prevent an attacker from stealing users’ identities and signing up for accounts under their name. A robust identity verification process validates that the user is who they say they are and helps prevent an attacker from committing fraud.
Account takeover is a common problem, and passwords are quickly becoming obsolete. Due to large data breaches of the last ten years, many username password combinations are already available for sale on the Dark Web. Strong authentication methods ensure that only legitimate users are accessing their accounts and attackers can’t log-in for nefarious purposes.
Biometrics are a secure and convenient way to log-into mobile apps using data derived from your own body. There is no fool-proof way to determine who is entering a password. The app developer can only determine whether the password entered matches the password key in the back-end of the system. Biometrics includes an additional indicator of trust, because it validates the individual offering the biometric sample for verification. Because the fingerprint, face recognition, or iris scan is presented live and connected to the in-the-flesh user.
Email security can be defined as the use of various techniques to keep sensitive information in email communication and accounts secure. These precautions are taken chiefly against unauthorized access, loss, or compromise. It allows an individual or an organization to protect the overall access to one or more email addresses or accounts. Email encryption involves encrypting, or disguising, the content of email messages to protect potentially sensitive information from being read by anyone other than intended recipients. Email encryption often includes authentication.
Cyber criminals use many different tactics to hack email, and some methods can cause considerable damage to an organization’s data and/or reputation. Malware, which is malicious software used to harm or manipulate a device or its data, can be placed on a computer using each of the following attacks.
A phishing attack targets users by sending them a text, direct message, or email. The attacker pretends to be a trusted individual or institution and then uses their relationship with the target to steal sensitive data like account numbers, credit card details, or login information. Phishing comes in several forms, such as spear phishing, regular phishing, and whaling. Spear phishing targets a particular person, while a whaler targets someone high up in the organization by pretending to be someone they trust.
A phishing attack targets users by sending them a text, direct message, or email. The attacker pretends to be a trusted individual or institution and then uses their relationship with the target to steal sensitive data like account numbers, credit card details, or login information. Phishing comes in several forms, such as spear phishing, regular phishing, and whaling. Spear phishing targets a particular person, while a whaler targets someone high up in the organization by pretending to be someone they trust.
Spoofing is a dangerous email threat because it involves fooling the recipient into thinking the email is coming from someone other than the apparent sender. This makes spoofing an effective business email compromise (BEC) tool. The email platform cannot tell a faked email from a real one because it merely reads the metadata—the same data the attacker has changed. This makes the impersonation of a person the victim either knows or respects relatively easy for an attacker.
Email is a primary weapon for spreading ransomware, an advanced threat that can affect multiple endpoints as well as steal sensitive data. Therefore, an email protection plan needs to include the following best practices to protect email traffic in real time.
Spam filter: A spam filter can detect spam and keep it from either hitting your inbox or file it as junk mail.
Email encryption: Email encryption can disguise corporate email by changing communications into a garbled arrangement of letters, numbers, and symbols that someone who intercepts it cannot read.
Antivirus protection: Antivirus protection screens emails and attachments for viruses, providing the user with warnings if anything suspicious is detected.
Secure email gateway (SEG): An SEG filters out potentially dangerous emails according to the settings of an IT administrator.
Multi-factor authentication (MFA): MFA is a key data loss protection and anti-hacking tool because it requires a user to provide more than one authentication factor to prove they should be granted access to a system.
Employee education: Employees can be educated to recognize social engineering, phishing, and other types of attacks that are typically executed using email.
Managing your money online is relatively easy, convenient, and straightforward. It makes our lives a lot easier and lets us perform online financial transactions in a matter of seconds. Even though there are many benefits to online banking, there are also some risks involved. Online accounts are also the target of criminals, similarly to homes being robbed or cards getting stolen. More specifically, the things that are put at risk are your money and identity. Luckily, there are things you can do to secure your financial future. Today we are going to give you six tips that can help you.
Most online banking platforms require users to login before they can access any services. When creating an online account, you might be tempted to create a password that you will remember with ease. You might find yourself creating a password that contains your telephone number, date of birth, or the name of your pet. Even though they are easy to remember, they provide a way for cybercriminals to get into your system and steal your data or, in the worst cases, the money you have worked hard to earn. One of the best ways to secure your online money transfers is to create a strong and unique password for your account. Ensure that your password has a perfect combination of alphanumeric characters. Also, a longer password can be stronger and more difficult to crack. Therefore, create a password that is about ten characters long. Worried about remembering the password? Well, don't worry! All you need is to carry out thorough research and find a secure password manager you can trust.
After creating a strong password, the next step is to make it difficult for a hacker to penetrate your account even if your password has been compromised. A good way to do this is to take advantage of two-factor authentication. This technology restricts access to a system unless the user provides a unique code that is often sent via email or SMS. Before choosing a tool for two-factor authentication, ensure you do your homework and choose one with good reviews. You can even ask your IT consultant for recommendations.
There are many money transfer services online. However, this doesn't mean that you should use all of them for your transactions. A good online money transfer cares about the security of their clients. Therefore, do your research and make sure it provides robust encryption. Also, check that the servers storing the financial information is protected by strong firewalls. Before you sign up, look at the website's address bar and make sure you see HTTPS and a padlock. Your goal is to ensure that all the information you provide to the site goes through an encrypted and secure channel and can't be accessed by personnel.
If you want to keep your data safe, the easiest way is by using a VPN. What is a VPN? It's a cybersecurity tool that improves your online safety with one click. With a strong VPN, you will be able to hide your IP and carry out your financial transactions in anonymity. This makes it difficult for anyone, including your ISP, to monitor your online activities. A VPN also provides SSL encryption, firewalls, and other security measures that make it impossible for hackers to steal data. Whenever you need to carry out a transaction online, simply check the VPN status and ensure it's active. After that, you can do whatever you want with confidence, knowing that your privacy and money are safe!
Before you carry out a financial transaction online, ensure that the operating system and any other software involved are up to date. Hackers will always find a loophole in outdated systems and use them to siphon the data they need to meet their malicious goals. If you're using a mobile device, ensure the finance app you're using is updated. In fact you should keep all your apps up to date because a hacker might find a way into your online banking up through another vulnerable app. If you follow the tips outlined above and constantly check your credit card or bank account balance for suspicious activity, you will go a long way in enhancing your online safety.
The term social media refers to a computer-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through virtual networks and communities. Social media is internet-based and gives users quick electronic communication of content, such as personal information, documents, videos, and photos. Users engage with social media via a computer, tablet, or smartphone via web-based software or applications.
Blogs: A platform for casual dialogue and discussions on a specific topic or opinion.
Facebook: The world’s largest social network, with more than 1.55 billion monthly active users (as of the third quarter of 2015). Users create a personal profile, add other users as friends, and exchange messages, including status updates. Brands create pages and Facebook users can “like” brands’ pages.
Twitter: A social networking/micro-blogging platform that allows groups and individuals to stay connected through the exchange of short status messages (140 character limit).
YouTube/Vimeo: Video hosting and watching websites.
Flickr: An image and video hosting website and online community. Photos can be shared on Facebook and Twitter and other social networking sites.
Instagram: A free photo and video sharing app that allows users to apply digital filters, frames and special effects to their photos and then share them on a variety of social networking sites.
LinkedIn: A place where groups of professionals with similar areas of interest can share information and participate in a conversations.
Social engineering is the term used for a broad range of malicious activities accomplished through human interactions. It uses psychological manipulation to trick users into making security mistakes or giving away sensitive information. Social engineering attacks happen in one or more steps. A perpetrator first investigates the intended victim to gather necessary background information, such as potential points of entry and weak security protocols, needed to proceed with the attack. Then, the attacker moves to gain the victim’s trust and provide stimuli for subsequent actions that break security practices, such as revealing sensitive information or granting access to critical resources.
What makes social engineering especially dangerous is that it relies on human error, rather than vulnerabilities in software and operating systems. Mistakes made by legitimate users are much less predictable, making them harder to identify and thwart than a malware-based intrusion.
Social engineering attacks come in many different forms and can be performed anywhere where human interaction is involved. The following are the five most common forms of digital social engineering assaults.
As its name implies, baiting attacks use a false promise to pique a victim’s greed or curiosity. They lure users into a trap that steals their personal information or inflicts their systems with malware. The most reviled form of baiting uses physical media to disperse malware. For example, attackers leave the bait—typically malware-infected flash drives—in conspicuous areas where potential victims are certain to see them (e.g., bathrooms, elevators, the parking lot of a targeted company). The bait has an authentic look to it, such as a label presenting it as the company’s payroll list. Victims pick up the bait out of curiosity and insert it into a work or home computer, resulting in automatic malware installation on the system. Baiting scams don’t necessarily have to be carried out in the physical world. Online forms of baiting consist of enticing ads that lead to malicious sites or that encourage users to download a malware-infected application.
Scareware involves victims being bombarded with false alarms and fictitious threats. Users are deceived to think their system is infected with malware, prompting them to install software that has no real benefit (other than for the perpetrator) or is malware itself. Scareware is also referred to as deception software, rogue scanner software and fraudware. A common scareware example is the legitimate-looking popup banners appearing in your browser while surfing the web, displaying such text such as, “Your computer may be infected with harmful spyware programs.” It either offers to install the tool (often malware-infected) for you, or will direct you to a malicious site where your computer becomes infected. Scareware is also distributed via spam email that doles out bogus warnings, or makes offers for users to buy worthless/harmful services.
Here an attacker obtains information through a series of cleverly crafted lies. The scam is often initiated by a perpetrator pretending to need sensitive information from a victim so as to perform a critical task. The attacker usually starts by establishing trust with their victim by impersonating co-workers, police, bank and tax officials, or other persons who have right-to-know authority. The pretexter asks questions that are ostensibly required to confirm the victim’s identity, through which they gather important personal data. All sorts of pertinent information and records is gathered using this scam, such as social security numbers, personal addresses and phone numbers, phone records, staff vacation dates, bank records and even security information related to a physical plant.
As one of the most popular social engineering attack types, phishing scams are email and text message campaigns aimed at creating a sense of urgency, curiosity or fear in victims. It then prods them into revealing sensitive information, clicking on links to malicious websites, or opening attachments that contain malware. An example is an email sent to users of an online service that alerts them of a policy violation requiring immediate action on their part, such as a required password change. It includes a link to an illegitimate website—nearly identical in appearance to its legitimate version—prompting the unsuspecting user to enter their current credentials and new password. Upon form submittal the information is sent to the attacker.
This is a more targeted version of the phishing scam whereby an attacker chooses specific individuals or enterprises. They then tailor their messages based on characteristics, job positions, and contacts belonging to their victims to make their attack less conspicuous. Spear phishing requires much more effort on behalf of the perpetrator and may take weeks and months to pull off. They’re much harder to detect and have better success rates if done skillfully. A spear phishing scenario might involve an attacker who, in impersonating an organization’s IT consultant, sends an email to one or more employees. It’s worded and signed exactly as the consultant normally does, thereby deceiving recipients into thinking it’s an authentic message. The message prompts recipients to change their password and provides them with a link that redirects them to a malicious page where the attacker now captures their credentials.
Cyberattacks don’t only happen to large corporations. Small businesses, groups and charities have to protect their IT systems, too.
Here are some practical steps you can take today to tighten up your data security.
Create a back-up copy of your data, and do this regularly. Store it somewhere other than your main workplace, if possible. That way, if there’s a break-in, fire or flood, you don’t lose everything.
Make sure you, your staff, volunteers, and anyone else involved in your operations uses strong passwords - including smartphones, laptops, tablets, email accounts and computers
If you, or people you work with do their work remotely, make sure the devices you use are as secure as the equipment you use in the office.
Educate yourself and those working for you on how to spot suspicious emails. Checking for obvious signs such as bad grammar, requests for you to act urgently, and requests for payment will help you avoid being caught out. If it looks suspicious, don’t trust it – and warn your staff not to either.
And keep it up-to-date. The National Cyber Security Centre has some useful advice and guidance on cyber security.
Data breaches can occur when staff and volunteers leave paperwork or laptops unattended. This could be in the boot of a car, on a train, or at home. Make sure you take steps to protect the personal data you hold by being vigilant and storing it securely away when it’s not in use.
Using public Wi-Fi or an insecure connection could put personal data at risk, so you should make sure you always use a secure connection when connecting to the internet.
And make sure your staff do the same. Taking steps to lock your screen when you leave your desk is a simple thing to do, but will prevent someone else from accessing your computer.
You have to restrict who has access to your IT systems and buildings – you can’t let just anyone in unaccompanied because this will leave your systems vulnerable. The fewer people with access, the better. Visitors should be clearly identifiable. Make sure you limit IT access to people who work for you, where possible. If someone leaves your company, or if they’re absent for long periods of time, you may want to consider suspending their access to your systems.
Staying on top of what personal data you hold will save you time and resources. It will also help you with your data protection responsibilities. Only keep what you need, for as long as you need it.
Before you get rid of them, make sure no personal data is left on personal computers, laptops, smartphones or any other devices. You could consider using deletion software, or hire a specialist to wipe the data. This will ensure no one can access information they’re not supposed to see when you dispose of the equipment. Data security refers to the process of protecting data from unauthorized access and data corruption throughout its lifecycle. Data security includes data encryption, hashing, tokenization, and key management practices that protect data across all applications and platforms.
Organizations around the globe are investing heavily in information technology (IT) cyber security capabilities to protect their critical assets. Whether an enterprise needs to protect a brand, intellectual capital, and customer information or provide controls for critical infrastructure, the means for incident detection and response to protecting organizational interests have three common elements: people, processes, and technology.
Data security is the practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle. It’s a concept that encompasses every aspect of information security from the physical security of hardware and storage devices to administrative and access controls, as well as the logical security of software applications. It also includes organizational policies and procedures. When properly implemented, robust data security strategies will protect an organization’s information assets against cybercriminal activities, but they also guard against insider threats and human error, which remains among the leading causes of data breaches today. Data security involves deploying tools and technologies that enhance the organization’s visibility into where its critical data resides and how it is used. Ideally, these tools should be able to apply protections like encryption, data masking, and redaction of sensitive files, and should automate reporting to streamline audits and adhering to regulatory requirements.
Encryption Using an algorithm to transform normal text characters into an unreadable format, encryption keys scramble data so that only authorized users can read it. File and database encryption solutions serve as a final line of defense for sensitive volumes by obscuring their contents through encryption or tokenization. Most solutions also include security key management capabilities.
Data Erasure More secure than standard data wiping, data erasure uses software to completely overwrite data on any storage device. It verifies that the data is unrecoverable.
Data Masking By masking data, organizations can allow teams to develop applications or train people using real data. It masks personally identifiable information (PII) where necessary so that development can occur in environments that are compliant.
Data Resiliency Resiliency is determined by how well an organization endures or recovers from any type of failure – from hardware problems to power shortages and other events that affect data availability (PDF, 256 KB). Speed of recovery is critical to minimize impact.
Micro Focus drives leadership in data security solutions with over 80 patents and 51 years of expertise. With advanced data encryption, tokenization, and key management to protect data across applications, transactions, storage, and big data platforms, big data solutions, Micro Focus simplifies the protection of sensitive data in even the most complex use cases.
Cloud data security – Protection platform that allows you to move to the cloud securely while protecting data in cloud applications.
Data encryption – Data-centric and tokenization security solutions that protect data across enterprise, cloud, mobile and big data environments.
Hardware security module -- Hardware security module that guards financial data and meets industry security and compliance requirements.
Key management -- Solution that protects data and enables industry regulation compliance.
Enterprise Data Protection – Solution that provides an end-to-end data-centric approach to enterprise data protection.
Payments Security – Solution provides complete point-to-point encryption and tokenization for retail payment transactions, enabling PCI scope reduction.
Big Data, Hadoop and IofT data protection – Solution that protects sensitive data in the Data Lake – including Hadoop, Teradata, Micro Focus Vertica, and other Big Data platforms.
Mobile App Security - Protecting sensitive data in native mobile apps while safeguarding the data end-to-end.
Web Browser Security - Protects sensitive data captured at the browser, from the point the customer enters cardholder or personal data, and keeps it protected through the ecosystem to the trusted host destination.
eMail Security – Solution that provides end-to-end encryption for email and mobile messaging, keeping Personally Identifiable Information and Personal Health Information secure and private.
Data privacy generally means the ability of a person to determine for themselves when, how, and to what extent personal information about them is shared with or communicated to others. This personal information can be one's name, location, contact information, or online or real-world behavior. Just as someone may wish to exclude people from a private conversation, many online users want to control or prevent certain types of personal data collection.
As Internet usage has increased over the years, so has the importance of data privacy. Websites, applications, and social media platforms often need to collect and store personal data about users in order to provide services. However, some applications and platforms may exceed users' expectations for data collection and usage, leaving users with less privacy than they realized. Other apps and platforms may not place adequate safeguards around the data they collect, which can result in a data breach that compromises user privacIn many jurisdictions, privacy is considered a fundamental human right, and data protection laws exist to guard that right. Data privacy is also important because in order for individuals to be willing to engage online, they have to trust that their personal data will be handled with care. Organizations use data protection practices to demonstrate to their customers and users that they can be trusted with their personal data.
Personal data can be misused in a number of ways if it is not kept private or if people don’t have the ability to control how their information is used:
• Criminals can use personal data to defraud or harass users.
• Entities may sell personal data to advertisers or other outside parties without user consent, which can result in users receiving unwanted marketing or advertising.
• When a person's activities are tracked and monitored, this may restrict their ability to express themselves freely, especially under repressive governments.
• For individuals, any of these outcomes can be harmful. For a business, these outcomes can irreparably harm their reputation, as well as resulting in fines, sanctions, and other legal consequences.
In addition to the real-world implications of privacy infringements, many people and countries hold that privacy has intrinsic value: that privacy is a human right fundamental to a free society, like the right to free speech.
The importance of data privacy can be examined from an individual’s point of view and from a business perspective:
Privacy laws around the world aim to give back individuals control over their data, empowering them to know how their data is being used, by whom and why, giving them control over how their personal data is being processed and used. Organizations that collect personal data are obligated to respond to those questions and manage personal data in a compliant way. According to Gartner’s predictions for the future of privacy, privacy is today what “organic” or “cruelty-free” was in the past decade.
Businesses can not operate without processing personal data in some way. However, in order to stay compliant, companies now have to manage personal data in a transparent and compliant way, be accountable for personal data they process, and adhere to privacy principles. Otherwise, they risk huge regulatory fines, loss of customers’ trust, investor appeal, and data breaches. However, privacy laws like GDPR, have pushed some companies into their digital transformation giving a competitive advantage to privacy-advanced companies. From meeting customers’ expectations to achieving competitive advantages in the form of a higher quality of data, improved customer experience, and greater investor appeal and brand.
Many of the existing data protection laws are based on foundational privacy principles and practices, such as those laid out in the Fair Information Practices. The Fair Information Practices are a set of guidelines for data collection and usage. These guidelines were first proposed by an advisory committee to the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1973. They were later adopted by the international Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in its Guidelines on the Protection of Privacy and Transborder Flows of Personal Data.
The Fair Information Practices are:
Collection limitation: There should be limits to how much personal data can be collected
Data quality: Personal data, when collected, should be accurate and related to the purpose it is being used for
Purpose specification: The use for personal data should be specified
Use limitation: Data should not be used for purposes other than what was specified
Security safeguards: Data should be kept secure
Openness: Personal data collection and usage should not be kept secret from individuals
Individual participation: Individuals have a number of rights, including the right to know who has their personal data, to have their data communicated to them, to know why a request for their data is denied, and to have their personal data corrected or erased
Accountability: Anyone who collects data should be held accountable for implementing these principles
Encryption is a way to conceal information by scrambling it so that it appears to be random data. Only parties with the encryption key can unscramble the information.
Access control ensures that only authorized parties access systems and data. Access control can be combined with data loss prevention (DLP) to stop sensitive data from leaving the network.
Two-factor authentication is one of the most important technologies for regular users, as it makes it far harder for attackers to gain unauthorized access to personal accounts.
These are just some of the technologies available today that can protect user privacy and keep data more secure. However, technology alone is not sufficient to protect data privacy.
