Data leakage in your company. What can you do?

Why is data security important for a company? Data breaches in a company

A data leak from a company is always a huge problem. It is associated with serious consequences that can affect not only management and employees, but also the company's clients and contractors.

One should strive for maximum data security company, as this allows:

• you'll take care of I integrity and free access to them always, when necessary – this is important in the context of maintaining high work efficiency;
• you will ensure your company's compliance with GDPR regulations, so you won't face hefty financial penalties.

If you prevent unauthorised disclosure of data, you will protect yourself from the severe consequences that come with it Business interruption. For in the longer term, this could even lead to bankruptcy.

How can company data be disclosed?

This usually happens in results of a hacker attack. It can involve, among other things Phishing, in which cybercriminals impersonate trusted institutions, for example tax authorities, to extort data. Other types of attacks include:

• • malware, where hackers gain access to protected resources as a result of infecting devices or networks with viruses or trojans;
  • Man-in-the-Middle, which leads to the interception of confidential communication between two parties by cybercriminals and to them impersonating the sender;
  • SQL Injection, in which a hacker injects SQL code into a database, enabling them to steal payment card numbers, for example;
  • XSS, or Cross-site scripting, which aims to embed malicious code into a website and use it to gain access to data stored in the browser.

What can be the consequences of a personal data leak in a company?

The consequences of data theft can be enormous and encompass both financial losses, as well as damage in the organisational, reputational or legal spheres. Each of them can have an extremely negative impact on the functioning of the enterprise.

Theft of employee or customer identity

When sensitive data such as name and surname or PESEL number is leaked, it can cause severe financial consequences. Hackers can:

• demand a ransom for the company to recover such data;
• obtain access to bank accounts companies or individual employees or clients and extract money from them;
• take out a loan to a specific person.

Disclosure of data also means significant risk infringement of rights and freedoms of individuals with regard to privacy or good name. Undue influence must therefore be strongly counteracted so that claims from employees or customers do not arise.

Breach of commercial secrets

As a result of the data leak, unauthorised individuals may gain access to information that constitutes company secrets. This could include, for example, know-how, a client list, or a marketing plan. The consequence could be a decline in market competitiveness and a drop in profits.

Penalties for GDPR violations

When a data breach occurs, the President of the Personal Data Protection Office can impose a severe penalty on the company. It can reach many millions of zloty This is to also include a prohibition on data processing for a specific period. Furthermore, individuals affected may claim damages from the court.

Deterioration of image among business partners

Data theft resulting from a hacking attack can cause damage to the company's reputation and loss of trust from customers and contractors. They will avoid cooperating with a company due to its failure to implement an effective data protection system. This can lead to a drop in turnover, and even bankruptcy.

The data controller has the following responsibilities: * Processing personal data lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner. * Collecting personal data only for specified, explicit and legitimate purposes. * Ensuring that the personal data collected is adequate, relevant and not excessive. * Ensuring that the personal data collected is accurate and, where necessary, kept up to date. * Keeping personal data in a form which permits identification of data subjects for no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed. * Processing personal data in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorised or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organisational measures. * Ensuring adequate training and awareness for staff processing personal data. * Developing and implementing policies and procedures for data protection compliance. * Appointing a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if required. * Cooperating with supervisory authorities. * Notifying the supervisory authority and, in certain circumstances, the data subjects of a personal data breach. * Conducting data protection impact assessments (DPIAs) when processing is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of individuals. * Facilitating the exercise of data subjects' rights, such as the right to access, rectification, erasure, restrict processing, data portability, and to object. * Maintaining records of processing activities.

To mitigate the risk of rights or freedoms being infringed within a company, it is worth checking what obligations such an administrator has. This is because the design and implementation of cybersecurity solutions largely depends on it. Such an administrator is the entrepreneur themselves. They are responsible for:

• preparation of documentation, in which data security matters will be regulated;
• Granting authorisations for data processing;
• applying specific solutions serving to improve company security;
• training of persons, which have access to sensitive data.

What to do in the event of a data breach in an enterprise?

All data breaches and suspected infringements of the rights or freedoms of individuals (employees, customers, etc.) must be report to UODO, i.e. the Personal Data Protection Office. Furthermore, one must also take care of:

• inform CERT Polska, which deals with cybersecurity incident response, about the leak of all entities that may be affected by it;
• Securing traces of an attack and reporting suspected criminal activity to the police or prosecution.

It is also important to take appropriate remedial action and minimise the effects of an attack. It is worth checking the company's security levels and, if necessary, improving them and adapting them to the ever-changing methods of hackers.

How to ensure the protection of employee personal data in a company?

Use anti-virus software

To prevent data leaks, it's advisable to install antivirus software on every device used within the company. The software will allow monitor network traffic to block suspicious online activity, scan computers or laptops for viruses, and protect the network from hacker attacks.

If you need a good and effective antivirus for your company, contact us. We offer comprehensive solutions for businesses. We provide antivirus software, local networks, and dedicated solutions. Contact us:

Protect and process personal data based on UTM

Maintaining the data protection system at an appropriate level will be facilitated by UTM. To Comprehensive company protection in the event of a data breach, which includes:

• firewall, or network firewall;
• content and app filtering;
• protection against malware or phishing;
• Intrusion Detection and Prevention System (IDS/IPS).

An important function of UTM in data protection is reporting. This allows for continuous monitoring of security levels within the company.

Read also: Free antivirus software - which one to choose?

To protect data within the company, use local area networks.

Together with UTM, you can apply local area networks – Both solutions are offered by Nicesoft. Such networks are an ideal tool not only for improving cybersecurity in an enterprise, but also for streamlining business processes and company management. They are fully scalable, so they will effectively meet the needs of any entity, both small and large.

Create comprehensive protection for a company website

Website protection procedures involve not only applying UTM or installing a local network, which will give you an effective antivirus and anti-spam system. It is also important Purchasing an SSL certificate, which will provide encryption of network communication. Thanks to it, you don't have to worry that sensitive data, concerning clients for example, will be intercepted by hackers from your company's website.

It is equally important to monitor the website cyclically and scan it regularly for viruses and malware. Constant analysis of website traffic and rapid response to potential threats help avoid security breaches and loss of customer trust.

If you need help monitoring the security of your website, please get in touch. We'll be happy to assist you!

Train employees to prevent data leaks in the company

Data theft can cause Staff negligence, for example, when they do not implement appropriate security measures on the devices they use. Therefore, in your company, create an accessible system for every member of the organisation cybersecurity policy and precisely define the related requirements. These may concern, for example, the necessity for employees to install and regularly update antivirus software, as well as the use of strong passwords when logging into programmes and applications used within the company.

What else do you need to know?