Major Threats To Corporate Data

We are currently living in the digital age, where even for our routine tasks we are dependent on technology. Since the last pandemic, the world has witnessed a massive transformation in the field of technology. When everything is digital, the data is supposed to be everywhere. At this point, SSEs assume that hackers only target large companies. However, in reality, every type of organization’s data is at risk of data loss. As a result, protecting against these malicious attacks becomes critical. In this article, we will talk about major threats to corporate data.

The majority of secret missions fail due to an insider. The truth is bitter, but the biggest threat to a company’s data is its employees. Data leakage can be done by either a dishonest or a careless employee. Disgruntled IT professionals with knowledge of and access to data centers can be a serious threat to data. Besides, a careless employee who forgets to lock and secure data can cause a huge loss.

We all know about data scraping scripts, SQL injections, and various other data threats caused by buggy software. Be it outdated software, software with no updates, software from untrusted sources, malware in genuine software somewhere in the supply chain that can reroute a complete database to another database, or implanting malware in open source libraries, can cause data loss.

Malware and ransomware are two other types of security breach threats that can be installed on your business computer. Like any other malware, these two can silently run in the background and steal sensitive data from your organization’s computer system. Ransomware is capable of encrypting and locking an entire database, making it inaccessible. As the name states, it further threatens to delete or corrupt the data unless a ransom is paid.

No wonder, new technology can significantly improve the efficiency of business operations. However, with the same speed, hackers have come up with new attack methods to exploit loopholes. Technologies like cloud storage, IoT, and mobile devices are all threat-prone. All of these can expose your business data to external vulnerabilities. Mobile devices like phones and tablets are shipped with preinstalled malicious bloatware and malware.

Data is the new currency, experts say. Most companies do not understand the importance of switching to digital platforms. This leaves them stranded in the advanced world. Their data stays exposed to the attacks. As they are not aware of threats, they never consider securing their data. This later becomes a huge threat.

The next threat is data loss. This can cost businesses their independence and livelihood. If scammed or lost, competitors can misuse the same data for their purposes. Data loss can occur because of internal or external factors. Poor database infrastructure is the major reason behind data loss.

No digital security protocol is 100% foolproof. With advancement, data breaches are becoming more complex to track. As we discussed, firewalls and other network security solutions are not 100% effective; they cannot protect your system from the latest cyberattacks for which they have no updates or support.

These are a few threats to your business data. Understanding these threats to business data and taking the necessary steps to avoid them is critical for data security. Besides, it is important to ensure data availability and integrity at all times. In our next article, we will be talking about how to avoid these data threats.