It doesn’t matter the size of the company. Data loss is a weighty issue that can tarnish the company’s reputation or have far-reaching financial implications. Losing company files can be in the form of accidental deletion or corruption by viruses and worms. By knowing the most common form of data loss, you can prepare yourself adequately. Read on for the most common causes of data loss.
Managing access of your employees and other users to your data is one of the ways to protect yourself from data loss. You will need a feature that can identify, manage access, review and expire access. Such a feature is known as entitlement management. Read more on it and efficiently manage access to both internal users and external groups.
Man is to error
No human being is perfect. The difference comes in the magnitude of the aftermath. In a business, such mistakes can lead to the overwriting of sensitive information or deletion of an entire client’s account. It can also come in the form of physical damage to equipment e.g. liquid spills or breakage of machinery.
Companies should consider investing in automation software. This reduces the interaction of humans with data and the system itself. They should also consider the installation of backup and cloud storage options.
Viruses and malicious software
There are individuals and groups with hostile intentions. Through the use of viruses, they can steal and also, delete an entire business’ data. Viruses can enter into a networked system through emails, corrupted links on the internet, or physical storage devices such as hard disks or USBs.
Anti-virus software is a must in the fight against malware. Run regular scans through your network or engage an IT specialist.
Hardware malfunctions
Hardware is the tangible parts of your computer system. Since we are speaking about data loss, the most important piece of hardware is your hard drive. Depending on the model of your computer, the hard drive will either be housed within the CPU or behind the screen. Regardless, the hard drive is usually well protected since it is very fragile.
Damage to your hard drive will result in loss of information. The computer might be dropped or jostled against a hard surface. Like any other asset on this earth, a hard drive has a shelf life and will eventually wear out over time. It is recommended that you regularly back up data on an external drive or a cloud server.
Theft
It is one of the oldest vices on earth. It has been propagated with the increased mobility of the workplace. Companies are affecting remote/ working from home policies. More employees are working using laptops, smartphones, and other portable devices. This makes them more prone to theft if their devices are left unattended.
Since the device will have access to the network, there is also the risk of a data breach. Therefore, companies should have the capability of remotely wiping data from those devices.