Data security entails policies, procedures and technologies that safeguard data from unauthorised access or manipulation. Data security is crucial to safeguard important information and ensuring that it’s disposed of in a way that does not require it. It helps organizations comply with legal and compliance obligations such as GDPR, CCPA and HIPAA, and prevents expensive lawsuits and reputational damage from malicious or accidental actions such as mistakes by employees and ransomware.
Authentication is the method of identifying people accurately before they are able to access or alter information. Authentication is the process of accurately in identifying people prior to their ability to access or alter data. It also requires keeping records of all user activities and setting up controls to limit who can access and/or share data, and to detect and monitor unusual or suspicious activity which could indicate a breach.
The classification of data enables organizations to prioritize and organize information in accordance with its importance. It is important to know the information you collect and only use the data that is essential to your business goals and operations. It is also important to have a plan for recovering information if there is a system malfunction, a natural disaster or data breach. This usually means having complete, differential and incremental backups of your crucial data in locations that are physically distinct from the original storage device and network.