Your team member accidentally exposes sensitive data. How do you prevent future security breaches?

There are different levels of data breaches but if we are talking about the most harmful one like when the cyber-attack takes over your servers it is very important to have your backups offsite. I have been sending SQL Server backup to Azure blobs where they are totally secure, and hackers cannot get there without a secure key. If this option is not available, I would suggest considering another offsite solution.

To prevent future security breaches: 1. I will conduct a breach impact evaluation to understand the level of harm this breach could cause. 2. Ensure the breach is communicated to the necessary teams while mitigated. 3. Review roles and permissions, ensuring that certain access is restricted to a defined period. 4. Ensure sensitive data is encrypted or masked and add additional authentication methods for accessing them. 5. Set up data protection standards within the team

First of all identify the depth of the damage in terms of regulatory and update necessary parties(Internal & external) with in the given time frame. Discover the root cause and analyze the root cause in order to understand the vulnerability in terms of technical, administrative etc. Re-do risk assessment based on above finding and cover other possible areas. Identify the controls to prevent such incident and propose to the senior management. Follow the change management process for implement. Test the control and update the document

Haven't experienced any data breach , but if happens will be following below methods: Assess the Breach: Identify the type and extent of compromised data, focusing on its sensitivity and potential impact on the business and clients. Prioritize Response: Based on the assessment, prioritize actions to mitigate the breach's impact. Communicate Transparently: Inform affected parties promptly. Enhance Data Literacy: Offer regular training on data protection to help users understand the importance of sensitive data and the consequences of exposure. Implement Consent Mechanisms: Require users to acknowledge data usage terms before accessing sensitive information. Data Masking: Enable data encryption or masking for PII data.

Assessing the impact of the breach is crucial to understanding its severity and guiding the next steps. This involves identifying the specific data that was exposed, determining the extent of the exposure, and evaluating the duration of the breach. By thoroughly assessing the scope, you can better gauge the potential consequences for affected parties, such as financial, legal, and reputational risks, and tailor your response efforts accordingly. This assessment also helps prioritize remediation efforts and informs communication with stakeholders and regulatory bodies.

It is very important to provide data literacy to users to help them understand what sensitive data is and what are some of the major repercussions if exposed. Regular mandatory trainings on data protection can help avoid future breaches. Plus create a proper breach notification channel to ensure such breaches are notified to impacted within time frame allowed. Lastly add consents with usage terms while giving accesses to sensitive data that the user must accept before authorising the access. This way users will take informed steps when consuming such data.

Start with the zero-trust security model: never trust, always verify. Leverage groups to implement role-based access control (RBAC). Use column and row access controls where appropriate. Don’t store sensitive data that you don’t have to store. For example, your workforce management systems may have social security numbers. You don’t need to store socials in your data warehouse, instead use other unique person identifiers.

Do access roster review periodically. It will reduce the risk of unauthorised access to sensitive data. Also, define the data labels clearly so that the person who is accessing the data understands it and takes precautionary measures while using that data.

Few things I found helpful to prevent future breaches: 1. Limit access to sensitive data based on job roles, ensuring that employees access only the information they need. 2. Monitor and analyze access logs to detect and address any unusual or unauthorized activity promptly. 3. Grant the minimum level of access necessary for each role, reducing the risk of accidental or intentional data exposure.

Access control to any data is paramount to the design and should be at the root of the design. Avoid storing sensitive information of this nature in the first place. If you must store information, then it needs to be encrypted. Implement column level and or row level locking where necessary and always ensure you use role based access control.

Give data privacy and security training periodically and evaluate them. It will help them understand the criticality and impact of data/security breach incidents.

Training should be consistent in an ever involving data world, once or twice a year, to new and existing staff. It is also important to the tram to understand what additional sets of data were added since their last training.

Continuous education and training are essential to maintaining a strong security posture. Reinforce security training for all employees, focusing on key areas such as recognizing phishing attempts, secure data handling practices, and the proper use of encryption tools. Employees should also be trained on how to identify and report suspicious activities or potential security threats. Regular training sessions should include updates on emerging cyber threats, changes in security protocols, and reminders of the importance of adhering to company policies. Implementing regular security drills, such as simulated phishing attacks, helps ensure that employees can effectively respond to real-world scenarios.

Train employees on data security best practices, including recognizing phishing attempts and understanding the importance of safeguarding sensitive information. Awareness can significantly reduce the risk of human error leading to data exposure

Train all the staff who have access to data Periodic refresh training will keep lights ON in the data handling Strengthen the SOP and policy on data governance

To prevent future breaches, update your data security policies. For example, if the breach occurred due to unauthorized access, revise your access control policies to enforce stricter role-based access and limit exposure. Implement regular audits to ensure that permissions align with current job roles. Update your incident response policy to include clear protocols for breach containment and mandatory reporting, ensuring swift action in future incidents. Ensure these updated policies are in compliance with relevant regulations and set up a schedule for regular reviews to keep them current and effective.

Políticas embasadas na ISO 27001 devem ser claras, objetivas, e transmitidas de forma a se controlar a sua assimila??o por parte dos colaboradores. A n?o observancia ou descumprimento das políticas devem estar previstas nos códigos de ética, de forma a tornar-se mandatória e apoiada pela alta gest?o.

Yes updating policy based on the RCA ensures the error less process The SOP and policies should be reviewed periodically This can ensure that the policies and up to date

Foster a culture of continuous learning and improvement, where security practices evolve alongside the changing threat landscape and ensure that security is seen as a shared responsibility across the entire team.

Strengthening data encryption is a critical measure to protect sensitive information both in transit and at rest. Ensure that all sensitive data is encrypted using industry-standard protocols, making it inaccessible to unauthorized parties even if a breach occurs. Regularly review and update encryption methods to align with the latest advancements in technology and security practices. Additionally, enforce the use of encryption for all devices and communication channels within the organization. By leveraging robust encryption practices, you significantly reduce the risk of data being compromised, even in the event of unauthorized access.

Encryption is something that I use all the time in data. Storing sensitive information is sometimes required and to address this you need encryption, and potentially column level security. Ensure that you have proper data retention policies in place so you dont store data longer than you need to. This needs to be agreed with the data owner and compliance. Keep track of who has access to the data and their usage patterns. Data changes but so does user requirements. Every six months review the security permissions and get the data owner to verify to its accurateness.

While traditional encryption methods are effective, exploring advanced techniques like homomorphic encryption can provide an additional layer of security. This type of encryption allows computations to be performed on encrypted data without decrypting it, reducing the risk of exposure during data processing. While homomorphic encryption is still maturing, it holds potential for use in highly sensitive environments where data privacy is paramount. Staying informed about emerging encryption technologies and evaluating their applicability to your data warehouse can future-proof your security strategy.

Adding encryption is necessary in this day and age. Every piece of secure information, whether it’s SSN, EIN, Tax ID, customer ID, or even addresses, encryption prevents unnecessary exposure to sensitive data. Removing the guesswork can help you and your team keep your data secure.

Leverage Encryption: Implement encryption for sensitive data both at rest and in transit. Encryption adds an extra layer of security, making data less accessible in case of accidental exposure or unauthorized access.

100% monitor is required. Who uses the system, what they are using it for, whether they have exported, how frequent. All these events are important. Review the security access every 6 months and get the data owners to verify its accurateness (sign off)

To prevent future breaches, implement robust system monitoring. For example, deploy real-time monitoring tools to track access to sensitive data and detect unusual activity. Set up alerts for any unauthorized access attempts, data exfiltration, or suspicious user behavior. Regularly review logs to identify patterns that might indicate security vulnerabilities. Additionally, implement automated responses to certain triggers, such as temporarily locking accounts after multiple failed login attempts. Continuous monitoring not only helps in detecting potential threats early but also ensures that your data security measures are actively enforced and adjusted as needed.

Implement continuous monitoring: Use security monitoring tools to track and analyze access to sensitive data in real-time. Set up alerts: Establish automated alerts for suspicious activities or unauthorized access attempts.

Mistakes can always happen, and precisely for that reason you need to have automation at every step. Machines should check by way of access controls, monitor email traffic so that such breaches do not occur.