Protect Your Data: 7 Ways to Improve Your Security Posture

Enterprise mobility, the flood of workplace devices, Software-as-a-Service application, and the cloud have transformed the way business operates, allowing business owners and employees to become both more mobile and more productive.

But the shift to mobile, cloud-based business has produced other changes as well, like a proliferation of personal mobile devices being used in work situation, dissolving business perimeters, and a greater use of public – or off domain – networks. While these shifts often result in increased productivity, they can also put businesses’ sensitive data at greater risk of security threats, attacks, or breaches.

Is it possible to give employees the mobility and productivity they need in a modern workplace while also protecting your data? Yes.

Microsoft released an ebook that discusses seven ways businesses can better protect data, and the actionable steps they can take to reduce vulnerability.  Below is a summary of the steps.  You can download the full ebook here.

  • Reduce threats with identity and access management

    Often the weakest links in security are employees, whether by accidentally leaking sensitive data or exposing their credentials in social networks. This is in part because maintaining control over applications across corporate data centers and public cloud platforms has become an increasingly complicated challenge.

  • Manage mobile device and apps

    As the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend grows and the use of Software-asa-Service (SaaS) applications proliferates, security concerns multiply. Critical data is being stored with greater frequency in the public cloud, which is not always governed by the same security standards as private cloud or on-premises solutions. This reality is forcing businesses to adapt quickly to maintain tight security.

  • Leverage conditional access

    Conditional access restricts access to corporate resources based on either user identity, or device health. It’s also about enforcing policies based on location and application data sensitivity. For example, accessing a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) application from a café requires multi-factor authentication because of both the location of the user and the sensitive data of the CRM system.

  • Increase enterprise data protection

    Mobile workplaces can greatly increase productivity and access to work-related resources, but they also increases the risk of accidental data leaks through apps and services like email, social media, and the cloud. Providing a safer environment for employees to work remotely is key to maintaining a more secure business while enabling mobile productivity.

  • Prevent data loss

    Sharing documents through email and other online tools is an important productivity tool for workers, but to err is human. Employees can easily send information to the wrong recipient, or attach the wrong document, inadvertently sharing access to sensitive data.

  • Enable secured collaboration

    When it comes to sharing information, convenience often trumps security, which makes for a security professionals living nightmare. Workers can get creative with how they share information, putting your data in jeopardy and your company at risk of losing critical data.

  • Reduce malware exposure

    Malware infections can often be traced back to user error. Phishing and spoofing schemes have become extremely sophisticated, tricking users with fake emails from trusted brands, luring them in with fake news stories, and convincing them to download innocuous-seeming apps that contain hidden attacks.

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