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Data security is a complex issue, but it’s an important one that is why it must be taken serious by you or your organization.
The implications of safeguarding data are more acute than ever before, as businesses rely on database systems to store pressurized information.
In this article, we will cover what is data security, data security system principles, common data security threats, and how to secure your data.
What Is Data Security?
Data security involves protecting and securing large sets of data in a database containing valuable able information to prevent them from hackers or people who have malicious intents. Databases range from Relational (SQL) databases such as:
- PostgreSQL
MySQL ...etc
to Non Relational (NoSQL) such as:
- MongoDB
- CockroachDB
- Firebase,..etc which are very useful in storing and managing data and databases well in their aspect respectfully.
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Data security is a growing concern for businesses. They need to be able to protect the data that they store on their servers from any potential threats.
The job of protecting data security is no longer about isolated networks behind firewalls anymore. Digitalization has caused this new era of sensitivity to headquarters today.
In order to protect the data, there are many solutions created by different countries and organizations, like service providers, etc. Among all of these solutions, they should choose the one with better results based on their research and conditions, such as a "zero trust IT strategy" or "bug bounty program.
Security Systems and Protocols
Since data is critical, this information should be maintained in a secure manner. There are security systems and protocols designed with the express purpose of protecting this vital data from access by unauthorized users.
Enterprises need to integrate and maintain an effective Database Management System in order to protect the confidentiality and integrity of databases.
Basic Principles For Security Systems Security systems vary from one type to another, but there are a number of basic principles which will be debated below. These principles provide protection by ensuring that unauthorized or suspicious transactions cannot be processed as if they were authentic, or can’t even reach the host system in a suspicious state appearing as an instrument of cover-up malicious code:
Authorization: Confirming authorization before processing any transaction
Accountability: Keeping an audit trail to trace potentially malicious transactions back to their source(s)
Identification of each transaction before an inspection
Auditing any suspicious activities and isolating them so they can't infect other datasets
Common Data Security Threats
- Data Hack:
This is when criminals or hackers gain access to information from an organization that is supposed to be only accessible to a select few individuals. They have exploited the loopholes in the systems of various organizations and swiped this information for their own gain or sold this data on the dark web in exchange for cash.
Such events or attacks often happen due to weak data security and API security since they both go hand in hand. These attacks are often carried out every year and usually target big organizations and companies with the hopes of extracting data from them.
- Data Breach:
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Data breach refers to the loss of, unauthorized access to, or exploitation of unintended data release through human error, cybersecurity breaches, or malpractice. Though it was given different names at different points in time over the last few decades including data spillage, accidental disclosure, data leak, and database snatching.
Data breaches can also be known as data leaks since they are data that were exposed or leaked out due to some kind of error. A lot of organizations experience data breaches often for the past few years which makes it hard to recover from and lots of work need to be done afterward to further secure and contain the exposed data before them getting into the wrong hands.
There are many ways data can be breached, and as technology becomes more advanced, the ways in which this can happen are also becoming more sophisticated. There are two types of data breaches which are:
Physical Breach: A physical breach is when someone physically accesses the server or storage where the data is stored.
This could be done by hacking into a system or by using brute force to break into the server room or storage facility.
Logical Breach: A logical breach occurs when someone gains access to a database without having physical access to the server where it’s stored.
This could happen if there was a SQL injection vulnerability on an application that was used to manage a database of sensitive information.
The list above was a short typical example of data problems a lot of organizations face however there are ways to provide data security in order to combat these problems.
Tips To Securing Your Data
Data Encryption: This is the act of encoding data into a specific format that is unreadable to humans unless they are decoded using specific algorithm patterns. Encrypting your data adds another security layer to how your data can be accessed and viewed.
This is a very good way of securing your data because whenever hackers gain access to your data, they will find it hard to make sense of the data due to it being encrypted hence making it irrelevant or completely useless to the hackers.
- Using A Firewall Firewalls are programs that aid in blocking away malicious programs, malware, viruses, and spyware that plans to access your system/server and get away with your data. There are quite a decent amount of companies that provide good and top-notch firewall security for your server.
They also prevent unauthorized access to a network or server
Good RBAC System RBAC stands for Role Based Access Control. A good RBAC system supports access on various levels for users including what and what, not a user can access. This system is responsible for assigning authorized roles to a particular set of users in your database.
When an RBAC system is used properly, it protects who has the right to view certain data and thereby acts as a regulator of what can be accessed if you have certain roles. For example, if there are 4 users in a database named User A, B, C, and D where A is the super admin, B is the admin, C is the moderator and D is a regular user. In a good RBAC system, user A can create and delete other users as long as they are not a super admin but other users can't while they are some level of access user C can have and every other type of user can have except user D who is just a user.
Storing Backups in Secured Clouds Backups are basically versions of your data at a particular period of time. Backups are pretty handy because they can be restored if there is a loss of data or a data breach however storing them in a secured cloud platform is crucial.
Choosing a good and well-secured cloud platform for storing your backup data is very important because they prevent hackers from accessing them from the cloud since backups are still data just from a previous version or time. There are some notable cloud providers for your databases such as MongoDB Atlas for Mongo databases etc...
There are many ways that companies can protect their data, but it all starts with educating employees on the importance of data security. This includes teaching them about the risks and what to do when there is a suspected breach.
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