Your Guide to Different Types of Data Security

Thursday, February 24, 2022 11:37 am, Posted by Absolute Destruction

The rise of digital technology and the connectivity that the internet gives us has made the world available at our fingertips. With just a click of a button, you can do and get what you need easily – be it grocery shopping, transferring money, or even paying your bills.

Technology also makes it easier to stay connected. You can stay up to date with your loved ones on social media and on various apps that make it easier to chat with them. You can safely say that the convenience technology brings is now intrinsic in daily life. With this convenience however comes one major drawback — the increased access and risk to your data.

Companies now have to be extra careful when they allow transactions online. The threat of data breaches and the subsequent invasion of privacy as well as identity theft looms large because of this. This is where knowledge about data security and protection is needed. This post highlights what data security is, its different types, and how you can secure your data.

Data Security Explained      

Data security is defined simply as the act of protecting data or digital information from possible corruption, unauthorized access, or malicious alterations. The methods and systems used to do this helps ensure that your information is safe from theft or destructive forces.

A lot of risks come with unauthorized access. Leakage and selling of confidential information gained via data breaches, the violation of privacy, and more can stem from the lack of data security. Financially, it can cost millions, as is evidenced by the cost of data breaches in 2020 totaling more than 3 million dollars.

Types of Data Security

Cybersecurity and data security are undoubtedly critical in this day and age. Since more people are working remotely due to the pandemic, the exchange of valuable information via the internet is higher. This opens up more possibilities for unauthorized access.

Cloud usage has risen 37% in the first quarter of 2020 and it’s due to this that hackers have taken advantage. Since the pandemic began, there have been reports of massive increases in cyberattacks. This is why a strong emphasis is being placed on data security. Below is a list of the different kinds of data security you can consider using:

Data Encryption

The data that you share online passes through various networks. Throughout this process, there is a chance for your data to be compromised by hackers. To prevent this, you can do what’s called data encryption to increase the security of your information.

Data encryption involves turning data into an output called ciphertext. Ciphertext is unreadable to anyone without a valid decryption password or key. The more complex the ciphertext is, the more protected the encryption and hackers are less likely to decrypt data using “brute force” (inputting random numbers until the right combination is accessed).

There are two types of data encryption — symmetric and asymmetric encryption. Symmetric utilizes only one key for encryption and decryption. Asymmetric encryption, on the other hand, utilizes a public key when encrypting and a private key for decrypting.

Data Erasure

Data erasure,  also known as data wiping, is a process of software-based overwriting. This completely and permanently erases data on a computer system or hard drive. It involves overwriting the existing data on the system with binary patterns such as zeros and ones.

Data Masking

Data masking involves creating a counterfeit or imitated version of your original data. The structure of the data is the same, however, its values are altered. It can be changed using character shuffling, encryption, or substitution. This way, your sensitive data can’t be identifiable.

Data Resiliency

Data resiliency is the ability of data to survive unprecedented events. These can be hardware problems, cyberattacks, corrupted systems, data alterations, and natural disasters. You can carry out data resiliency by producing data backup copies of your data and servers.

Types of Data Security Measures

Data security is essential for companies. With it, you can survive lots of data breach risks such as phishing, insider threats, ransomware, data loss, and more.

Even a single cyber attack can damage your company and cost you lots of money, not to mention tarnish your reputation. Make sure that you employ suitable security measures and review these occasionally for flaws.

Create strong passwords, set up firewalls, shred important papers, and monitor your systems regularly. You can also avail of commercial data destruction services for consistent data protection maintenance.

Pro Tip Train your employees about data security so that they can help in ensuring that they are protected.

Secure Your Data Today!

As the world expands its digital capabilities, cybersecurity is paramount. Failure to have data security solutions in place can increase your chances of data theft and cyber attacks. These can lead to heavy financial losses.

To ensure the integrity of your sensitive information, establish a strict cybersecurity program. You can also consider asking for help from cybersecurity professionals — especially for large-volume jobs.

At Absolute Destruction, your security is our top priority. We offer professional, secure data destruction and document shredding services — for residential and commercial purposes. Our industrial-grade shredding equipment will ensure that your data won’t be at risk. If you need physical and digital documents destroyed, contact us today.

Keep your data secured with the help of Absolute Destruction. Contact us today to learn more about our services.

FAQs on Your Guide to Different Types of Data Security

What are the different types of data?

There are two main categories of data — qualitative and quantitative. Numbers measure qualitative data, and it has two subcategories. Nominal and ordinal. On the other hand, quantitative data considers numerical values. Examples of these are the price of a cell phone and the ram of a particular laptop. There is an infinite number. The two subcategories of quantitative data are discrete and continuous.

How is data security different from data privacy?

Data privacy is the act of ensuring only qualified and authorized users access data. Data security focuses more on safeguarding data against unauthorized access and malicious threats.

How important is data security?  

There is so much sensitive data that malicious individuals can gather online. Names, emails, addresses, and credit card numbers, to name a few. These can put you at risk for theft, kidnapping, and so much more. Business-wise, you also need to adhere to the Data Protection Act.

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