We’re thrilled to introduce MSP360 RMM 2.2, the latest version of our remote monitoring and management software. This release brings impactful updates, including the RMM Alert Profiles for streamlined alert configuration and control, the ability to trigger post-actions from alerts, and support for software installation directly from a network share or local disk. It also includes several other enhancements designed to optimize your workflow. Continue reading
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Guide to Data Security Management
Data security management is a centralized approach that allows you to standardize and streamline your security operations, thus making them more robust and failure-resistant. In this article we overview exactly why you need to implement data security management, how it can be implemented and what kind of attacks you will typically be facing and, lastly, give you the best tips and tricks for building a failure-resistant data security solution.
Why Data Security Management Is Important
According to a study by Varonis, only 5% of organizations’ folders and files are properly secured. Data security management allows you to mitigate potential risks and reduce the number of successful attacks on your business's data. Here are more reasons why you need to implement data security management:
- Data breaches cost a lot. In the event of a successful ransomware attack, your mission-critical data will be locked. Unless you have valid backups in place, you will either lose the data or pay the ransom. And according to Coveware, the average ransom paid in 2020 was $233,000. Even if you decide to recover your data and not pay a ransom, you will still experience losses due to downtime; and, even if it’s not a case of ransomware attack, any data loss will lead to costs.
- Business continuity. If, for example, you lose access to your e-commerce database for an hour, your whole company's operations will be stalled for this hour, which, in addition to the financial losses, means missed business opportunities.
- Bad reputation. Also, if you lose your clients' data or if it is exposed due to a successful hack, you will have to report it, which will eventually lead to reputational losses.
- Compliance. Lastly, if you manage financial, health, legal or other sensitive data, its loss means that you will in most cases be sued and eventually fined.
Further reading Data Security in the Cloud: Best Practices for MSPs and Their Clients
Types of Attacks That Data Should Be Protected From
Once you have persuaded the decision makers that you need data security management in place, it's time to define the types of attacks you will be protecting your business from. Here are the most typical of them:
Malware. Ransomware, worms, trojans, and other sorts of injected programs aimed at interrupting your normal business operations or stealing your data.
Further reading Ransomware Attack Scenarios
Phishing. Phishing is a popular way to distribute malware or steal data that will be used for injection later on, via emails sent to your users.
Network attacks. Any modern business has at least something in their network exposed to the Internet, which is full of malicious scanners trying to find a vulnerability in order to carry out an attack.
Further reading Network Security Best Practices
Internal attacks. A fired employee who had privileged access might steal or delete mission-critical data if their access to the network has not been not disabled promptly.
Other Data Security Threats to Consider
Outside of targeted attacks, there are more threats that you should consider when creating a data security policy and a disaster recovery plan:
Human error. Human error is one of the most common causes of data breaches, both large and small. It's advisable to perform training for end users to reduce the probability of data loss.
Equipment failures. While you can monitor the health of your equipment, there is always a chance of spontaneous failure. So your disaster recovery plan should include this probability.
Shadow IT. The IT inventory of every modern organization is pretty complex. There are dozens of pieces of hardware and types of licenses you acquire and manage. It is a challenging but necessary task to keep track of this.
Incorrect disposal of devices. Old data storage equipment should be recycled with extreme attention. A single old hard drive with sensitive information can lead to further security breaches or a compliance case.
10 Tips to Protect Data Properly
- Classify your data to define mission-critical material. Once you know this, you will be able to develop a detailed disaster recovery plan.
- Audit data access policy. Use the rule of least privilege to restrict access to critical data to those users who need it.
Further reading IAM vs PAM vs PIM: The Difference Explained
- Control data movement. If any of your users can store sensitive information outside of corporate storage, you should know about this.
- Audit security regularly. Data security is one of the key aspects of overall IT security.
Further reading IT Security Audit: A Comprehensive Guide
- Implement a password policy. Develop a strong password policy and implement multi-factor authentication solutions where possible. Also, do not allow your end users to choose and change passwords on their own, unless you want to be hacked because of a ”john123” password.
Further reading Password Management Best Practices
- Backup data. Your last line of data defense is a valid and up-to-date backup. There are numerous ways to lose data and it’s impossible to protect against all of them. But you can develop a comprehensive backup plan to be sure that your data is secure.
- Test recovery. While backup is necessary, what you really need is data recovery. You should test your recovery plans and verify that your files are accessible, your system image backups can start and your equipment is ready for various data breach scenarios.
- Fix vulnerabilities. As you find new vulnerabilities, fix them on day one.
- Use tools. Data security management is not a great area for implementing DIY solutions.
- Train your customers and employees. You should train your clients to protect themselves from the most typical attacks, and to use the solutions correctly. This will reduce the probability of their losing data as the result of a mistake.
Conclusion
Data security is one of the most important pillars in modern-day organizational security. You should create a thought-through, complex, yet usable policy. Revise and test it regularly to ensure that it remains in line with your company's processual and infrastructural changes. In this way, you will reduce the probability of an expensive or even devastating data loss.
Release of MSP360 Connect (Formerly Remote Desktop) for Android
We are pleased to announce the release of our Connect (Formerly Remote Desktop) for Android in Google Play.
The application is available absolutely free of charge. Be the first to try the newest addition to our MSP360 Connect product line-up. Continue reading
News You Might’ve Missed. 12 – 16 Apr
Compromised Microsoft Exchange Servers getting hacked by FBI; A second zero-day Chromium exploit code released on Twitter, and data of 1.3 million Clubhouse users exposed.
Let's see what it's all about. Continue reading
IT Security Audit: A Comprehensive Guide
Most IT professionals perform ongoing security monitoring of their environments to catch security problems as they arise. But what happens if your monitoring tools don't catch a threat or vulnerability? Or, what if there are underlying configuration problems in your IT environment that invite security breaches? Continue reading
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Cloud Backup as a Service: Essential Guide for SMBs
The “as a service” model refers to a solution, a platform, or a product that is provided and managed for an internal or external client by a third-party agent. This model is popular nowadays due to its flexibility and simplicity for the customer. You don’t need to find, test, and integrate the solution yourself; you just have to find a solutions provider, who will manage everything IT, leaving you with only the business-related tasks.
Needless to say, there is everything as a service nowadays, starting from analytics up to quality assurance. In this article, though, we will discuss why and how to implement backup as a service within an organization.
What Is Backup as a Service?
The backup as a service model, or BaaS for short, applies to backup management performed by a third-party service provider for its customer. Backup management typically includes:
- Data classification and backup planning
- Backup solution setup and management
- Backup cloud and local storage management
- Recovery plans and procedures procurement
The BaaS model allows an end user to delegate all data backup needs to a service provider, ensuring data safety according to service level agreements between parties. It's a perfect model for both small companies without an internal IT department, who can rely on a provider to perform IT routines for them, and for big companies who want to build an ITSM/ITIL-style relationship between their departments.
Further reading Backup as a Service vs Disaster Recovery as a Service: The Difference Explained
Why Do SMBs Need Cloud Backup as a Service?
According to a study by the National Cyber Security Alliance, 37% of SMBs who have experienced data loss have suffered a financial loss, 25% have filed for bankruptcy and 10% went out of business.
With the number of cybersecurity attacks growing each year and IT infrastructures getting more complex, it is clear why organizations should employ the more user-friendly and convenient BaaS model. Here are more pros for it:
- Client-oriented. Backup as a service is not a solution, but a service, oriented towards solving a given client's tasks and challenges. In other words, it's customized based on their needs.
- Budget-friendly. BaaS providers always build their solutions based on the client's existing budget. The costs of buying a solution, backup and data management, and developing backup and disaster recovery plans are embedded into the proposition. External backup as a service providers typically use a pay-as-you-go model, which allows budgets to be optimized on the go.
- Simplified backup management. Since BaaS providers do the management, it's safe to say that it only remains for the client to define where there's a need to backup and recover data.
Further reading 6 Benefits of Backup as a Service
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Full System Backup and Recovery
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Backup as a Service Challenges
However, on the other hand, there are several challenges and concerns regarding the integration of the cloud backup as a service model within an organization. These factors need to be considered, so you can make a well-rounded decision:
- Less control over processes and infrastructure. If the third-party storage provider hosting your data experiences an outage, you could lose it. Also, your data could be compromised. So, choose BaaS providers who work with the most reliable cloud storage solutions out there.
- Higher bandwidth consumption. Although BaaS providers will still provide you with local backup, they typically aim for cloud storage as their first storage solution. That means you will have higher requirements for bandwidth and higher bandwidth consumption during backup and recovery operations.
- Inaccessible data due to Internet outage. The classic BaaS approach relies on cloud solutions; hence, if you have no Internet connection, you can neither back up nor recover your data. To deal with that concern, most of BaaS providers nowadays include all types of local backup in their proposition.
How Do You Employ a BaaS Provider?
At this point, you may be wondering how to find an external BaaS provider, or how to develop an in-house backup as a service solution?
If you are looking for a provider to do backups for you, contact several big companies on the market. They will be able to assess your budget and needs, define the proposition and outline the service level agreement. Together you should classify your data, and define the backup and recovery methods for the various platforms and operating systems you use.
If you are building an in-house BaaS solution, you should first define the needs of your business and establish your recovery point and recovery time objectives in order to find the appropriate software and, if needed, hardware. Thus, you also need to classify the data, choose the platforms for backup, and put together a backup and disaster recovery plan.
Choosing a Cloud Backup as a Service Vendor
It's not always easy to choose a vendor that will provide you with backup as a service. If you are having a hard time picking one, here's a screening list that should help you:
- Does the provider support all your operating systems and platforms?
- Do they support cloud and local backups?
- Will they create a backup and disaster recovery plan for you?
- Will they base their estimates on your RTO and RPO requirements?
- Do they have 24/7 support for emergency situations?
- How will they secure your data in transit and at rest?
If you have several candidates with greatly varying price points for a similar offering, find out why there is such a difference. Remember, the best choice is not always the cheapest nor, indeed, the most expensive solution.
Further reading 4 'Must-Have' Features of the Managed Backup Software
MSP360's Backup Solution for SMBs
If you are looking for a ready BaaS solution for your own business, MSP360 Managed Backup will provide you with everything you need – a flexible cross-platform backup solution that is managed from a single pane of glass. You won't need to build a costly local infrastructure, as MSP360 is integrated with the biggest cloud storage providers out there and also provides you with local backup options for better data protection.
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