Data Privacy Risk Guides Sensitive Content Communications

A recent episode of Kitecast featured Bryan Hadzik, the CTO at NCSi, who spoke about how the cybersecurity requirements facing NCSi’s clients have evolved over the past two decades. Zero trust offers a great opportunity to manage risk as it relates to the network, applications, and users. It also applies to the content layer, where least-privilege access and always-on monitoring play a critical role in protecting private data and ensuring compliance with various data privacy regulations.

The following are some of the key takeaways from the Kitecast episode:

Zero Trust as It Relates to Protecting Sensitive Data

Zero trust is an important concept for data protection and governance. It is a way to govern access to sensitive data. This concept has become increasingly important with the rise of cloud computing, remote working, and other technologies that have made data sharing easier than ever.

Zero trust can be defined as an approach to data protection and governance that emphasizes that no user or system is ever trusted by default. The goal of zero trust is to provide strong security while reducing the complexity of managing access to sensitive data. In this approach, all users, systems, and access requests are treated with suspicion and require authentication to gain access to data.

At its core, zero trust is a security philosophy that assumes that every user, device, and network connection is potentially malicious. This approach involves scrutinizing and authenticating every request for access to data or systems, rather than blindly trusting that users or devices within a certain network perimeter are automatically trustworthy.

In today’s world, where remote work and hybrid work environments are becoming increasingly common, the traditional network perimeter is no longer a reliable indicator of trust. Zero trust helps to ensure that even users or devices that are physically inside the network are not given automatic access to sensitive data or systems.

By implementing a zero-trust approach, companies can ensure that their data is always protected, regardless of the location of the user or device. This means that even if a user’s device is compromised, the attacker must still need to go through the necessary authentication processes to access sensitive data.

But zero trust isn’t just about protecting against malicious attacks. It’s also about protecting against accidental or intentional data breaches, which can occur when an employee inadvertently shares sensitive information with the wrong person. By requiring authentication for every request for access to data, organizations can better control who has access to what information and reduce the risk of accidental breaches.

Intertwining of Data Privacy Security and Compliance

Data privacy security and compliance are all interconnected and must work in harmony for organizations today to stay secure, compliant, and protect customer data. This has become increasingly necessary as cybersecurity threats evolve and businesses increasingly rely on technology. Keeping customer data secure and protecting customer privacy from malicious actors is a necessary and important part of any organization’s security and compliance plan. The customer journey for data privacy security and compliance begins with understanding the potential risks and how to protect against them.

Organizations must understand the threats posed by cybercriminals, malicious insiders, and rogue nation-states to effectively implement data privacy and security protocols that are compliant with data protection laws and regulations. Organizations must also recognize the need to reevaluate the efficacy of their data privacy security and compliance procedures over time to ensure they remain up to date with the changing threat landscape.

At the same time, organizations must be aware of the implications of regulations and how they can affect the customer journey. Regulations such as the CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) can be difficult to understand, and organizations should be mindful not just to take a vendor’s word for it, but also to take the time to read through and understand the regulations before taking any action. Additionally, organizations should consider if there are any changes to their business processes that could be made to help them better meet compliance requirements.

Organizations must also take care to understand the level of risk they face, and then evaluate and implement appropriate security protocols to protect customer data. This may involve using end-to-end encryption and other security measures to protect data in transit, conducting risk assessments and security audits, and implementing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and other measures to protect data at rest. Further, organizations should be aware of the importance of user access and activity monitoring to detect and respond to any malicious activity or data breaches in a timely manner.

The customer journey for data privacy and security can be a complicated one, and organizations must take the time to properly understand the threats they face and the requirements they must meet. By properly understanding security and compliance risks, organizations can ensure they are taking the necessary steps to protect their data and the privacy of their customers. Additionally, organizations must create a culture of cybersecurity awareness among their employees and take the necessary steps to stay secure, compliant, and protect customer data.

Managing Data Privacy Exposure Risks

It is essential for organizations to take proactive measures to mitigate the risks associated with data privacy exposure. This means investing in data privacy and security measures such as software, resources, and training that can help monitor and protect against data breaches. Additionally, organizations should consider the hypothetical risk associated with data breaches, such as the financial and reputational costs.

Organizations should consider investing in the right tools to help facilitate data privacy and security. This includes purchasing the appropriate software that can help secure data, such as malware and antivirus programs, firewalls, encryption, and audit logs. Furthermore, companies should consider investing in data privacy and security policies, such as establishing access control protocols and password protocols. They also should focus on training employees on data privacy and security best practices and evaluate their contracted vendors and service providers to ensure they are compliant with various data privacy regulations like GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), among numerous others.

In addition to the above, organizations should consider risk management as an integral part of their decision-making process. Organizations should evaluate potential vendors and services before making a purchase decision, and review potential security and compliance risks that may be associated with the vendors or services. Additionally, organizations should assess the reputational and financial impacts associated with a data breach. By taking these proactive measures, organizations can mitigate the risks associated with data privacy exposure.

Organizations should also consider engaging in thought exercises to help employees better understand risk and security. This can help bring a more casual and engaging approach to discussing risk, rather than simply articulating them in terms of regulations. For example, an organization can ask its employees to consider a hypothetical scenario in which the organization has suffered a data breach, such as calculating how much it will cost to send out letters to notify customers of the breach. This can help to familiarize employees with the financial and reputation costs associated with data breaches.

Overall, to mitigate the risks associated with data privacy exposure, organizations must take proactive steps. This includes investing in the right tools and getting the right cyber risk strategy involved in their decision-making process. This also includes engaging in thought exercises with their employees. By taking these steps, organizations can ensure that their data privacy and security protocols are robust and that their employees are aware of the risks associated with data breaches.

Summing Up the Data Privacy Conversation

Our Kitecast interview with Hadzik highlights the complexities of managing the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity and compliance. His insights provide valuable knowledge to help organizations stay on top of their data privacy and compliance needs. By understanding the different regulations, standards, and frameworks, a company can make informed decisions about the security of its data and the protection of its customers’ private information. He also emphasizes the importance of taking a holistic approach to cybersecurity and compliance and advises that organizations invest in the necessary resources to ensure they are compliant and secure.

Through its strategic partnership with Kiteworks, NCSi is able to deliver a consolidated sensitive content communications platform—which includes email, file sharing, managed file transfer (MFT), and web forms—approach to its customers. This unifies private data exchange inside and outside of the organization while providing a consolidated audit trail used to demonstrate compliance with data privacy regulations.

For a more in-depth understanding of the Kiteworks Private Content Network and the capabilities of NCSi, schedule a custom demo today.

Additional Resources

• Brief Learn How Hardened Security and Security Layering Minimize Risk
• Blog Post Discover How Cybercriminals Are Exploiting ChatGPT AI Technology
• Report Benchmark Your Sensitive Content Communications Risk Exposure