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How To Protect Your Business Secrets

April 24, 2023/0 Comments/in Secrets /by News Desk

When it comes to business secrets, they sound almost taboo, right? Nowadays, most people think of either top-security corporations doing shady deals like a James Bond villain or classified government secrets. But generally speaking, a lot of business secrets aren’t all as dramatic as you’d see in books and movies. Even though customers prefer to have full transparency with companies they purchase from (and transparency should be encouraged), you just can’t share everything, even if you want to, because it could always potentially affect your business. Competitors love hearing secrets from other companies, and they’ll try to do what they can to thrive off of it.

Needless to say, you want your business to stay standing, so secrets are necessary at times. Think of the Coca-Cola recipe or the KFC recipe, these are all known to be heavily guarded, and since they’re not shared, all it does is boost the PR instead. In a way, it can help make your business look more professional. With these recipes and their business secrets kept locked up for so many decades, it begs the question, how do they do it?

How can some of these companies keep these business secrets as safe as they do? How can you do the same? Keep reading on to find out how you can keep and protect your business’s secrets!

Start Off By Knowing What You’re Protecting

No matter what type of business you are, there’s a chance there’s a secret out there that you just don’t want your competitors to know. You want to keep having that leg up above them, and as long as your product is better than theirs, it’s how you can keep on doing it. It’s the secret that makes your product so amazing; it’s what needs to be protected. But every business they have that one thing that needs protection, that secret that cannot and should not be known.

These secretive competitive advantages can be anything from a recipe for your company’s signature soft drink to an algorithm that your employees have developed, a research project, or even your business plan. So any business in any industry can have one. So whatever it is, you need to know why it’s so special to protect and how you can protect it.

Keep it All a Secret

Whether it’s your trade secrets, confidential customer information, or other intellectual property, protecting them is crucial. If not, your business can lose valuable proprietary information that could help it thrive. To start, identify the most important pieces of information that need to be kept secret. This can include financial, accounting, employee, recruiting, and other types of information. Once you’ve identified those pieces of information, make sure they’re clearly labeled as “CONFIDENTIAL” or some other designation that clearly states the item is a trade secret.

That’s the more simplistic route, but even when it comes to online or tech-related access, you’ll have to be careful too. A common question that occurs is whether wifi or is Bluetooth safe, and sometimes it can be questionable when you have a very important secret that you’re trying to protect. Overall, keep it confidential and keep it careful even when you’re online.

For paper documents, this means marking them in a color that is distinct from the text or making the item clearly identifiable by its file name. Afterward, just try to keep track of who has access to the information and what they are allowed to do with it. For example, if you have a confidential customer list, put it in a locked filing cabinet and restrict access to only those with a legitimate need to know the information. While this all sounds overall simplistic, this is exactly how it’s achieved. It’s about having it protected, classified, and keeping up with who knows it or has seen it.

Have NDAs Put into Place

If you have employees or contractors, then you especially need to keep all of this in mind. Even if you’re getting investors, they should sign one too. Your secrets need to be protected, and that legally binding contract has a lot of power. This agreement can also be a helpful tool in case a third party discloses your information during a transaction, such as when you sell your business or acquire another company.

There are many different NDA types and formats that you can use. In addition, it is important to choose one that complies with your state’s laws. While this might sound overboard, it’s almost always necessary, and it’s also how some of the biggest companies in the world protect their secrets.

Limit the Access and Information of the Secret

This is very obvious, and most businesses will actually do this too. Limiting access is honestly the best way to go about this. Make sure whoever has the information of your secrets can be completely trusted. Overall, be selective with who you choose too. Ideally, you’re going to want to select people who are in high positions like yourself.

4 Best Practices for Protecting Healthcare Data

September 26, 2022/0 Comments/in Privacy /by News Desk

Cyber threats and data breaches are not limited to big tech companies or enterprises. Healthcare systems are one of the main targets of cybersecurity attacks due to the importance and sensitivity of their data. Threats to this data can be disastrous for all individuals involved and even pose life-threatening risks. Healthcare sectors must look beyond physical safety to reduce risks related to digital data and implement robust data management and security practices.

Patient data is the most sensitive and targeted resource available to healthcare sectors. Data protection practices like network protection, access management, encryption, and implementing Zero Trust security healthcare architecture are vital to safeguarding this critical information.

Practices for Protecting Healthcare Date:

Protecting healthcare data includes protecting it when it transfers, at rest, or in use. To do that efficiently, healthcare security professionals must adopt modern data protection practices. These practices should be compliant to deal with the ever-growing cybersecurity threats. Following practices can help healthcare sectors ensure data protection:

1. Utilise Access Management Frameworks

Proper access management is a security measure to control who and how many resources each user or device can access, depending on authorisation and authentication. This practice only allows users with permission to access healthcare data, networks, and other resources. These controls help protect healthcare data from malicious third-party attacks.

Limited access controls ensure that any data breaches are easy to backtrack to their source. Some frameworks to implement when managing access controls are:

IAM

The Identity and Access Management (IAM) framework guarantees that all individuals accessing the cloud are appropriately authenticated and authorised. This framework includes a wide range of policies and tools to ensure that all access to the resources is managed and monitored.

Role-Based Access Control

This access control approach allows user access based on their role and job within the system. Access is restricted depending on authority, work responsibility, and job competency to ensure that no malicious user can access the data from inside or outside.

2. Implement Zero Trust Architecture

Implementing The Zero Trust security framework is one of the best practices to secure healthcare data. It provides stern access controls to healthcare data based on continuous identity verification for accessing each application or segment on the server. This framework always assumes the presence of breaches and restricts activities unless authorisation is confirmed. Some essential security components comprising this framework are:

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)

A data breach can result from stolen credentials that give malicious third parties free access to all sensitive information. Multi-factor authentication verifies the user’s identity, trying to access healthcare data from several sources like OTP and fingerprint recognition, making it a great security solution against unauthorised access.

MFA adds an extra layer of protection to staff’s accounts. Upon entering their account credentials, identity verification is required in the form of a code sent to their mobile phone, a fingerprint scan, or a one-time password.

Never Trust, Always Verify Approach

Never trust approach re-authorises and re-authenticates the user privilege every time they try to assess a segment of the server. This approach is more effective in tackling breaches than least privilege, which gives access to all the healthcare data resources once the user verifies. Zero Trust enforces and monitors privileges every step of the way.

Micro segmentation

The Zero Trust framework separates the health sector’s system into multiple segments or applications. This restricts even an authorised user of the network from accessing all the data. Authorisation is required to access each segment separately. This reduces damage to the whole healthcare data system by decreasing the attack surface for cyber-attacks.

Continuous Diagnosis and Mitigation (CDM)

Healthcare sectors have a huge number of connected devices as they are starting to adopt internet-enabled medical devices and equipment. Medical staff and treatment procedures are also shifting towards the Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) for accurate diagnosis. CDM is the security component of the Zero Trust framework that provides visibility and ensures the compliance of these healthcare devices with security requirements. It also provides threat intelligence and network activity logs.

3. Proper Data Storage and Monitoring

Data storage on physical hardware and devices is prone to many vulnerabilities. A proper security system with protected data storage and monitoring ensures that potential threats to healthcare data are identified, and even if the data is compromised, it is rendered useless to malicious third parties. This is achieved through:

Monitoring

A security framework that monitors all incoming and outgoing traffic from the system enables healthcare sectors to inspect all users and devices that access healthcare data and resources. Intrusion detection & prevention actions are also possible through traffic monitoring. Real-time monitoring of all data traffic prevents malicious users from moving huge amounts of sensitive data out of the system without being noticed.

Encrypting Data Storage

All healthcare data should be encrypted inside the storage. This approach provides added security to the data by encoding its contents. This ensures that even if sensitive data is compromised, it is not exploitable by third parties.

4. Data Protection through Cloud

Cloud services approach data security effectively by taking proper protection measures and risk management tactics to ensure that all data is safeguarded. Moving healthcare data to the cloud and applying proper access policies to this data is an efficient approach to healthcare data protection.

Cloud Data Backup

Data stored on the cloud can also be a form of backup to ensure health sectors work continuity even after a cyberattack.

Remote Access

Shifting healthcare data to the cloud effectively lets doctors and staff access this critical information from anywhere if the situation requires it. Many healthcare services are also switching to remote support allowing people in need to get in contact with healthcare professionals remotely. Such an approach requires protective measures to ensure safe communication.

Threat Protection Strategies

Cloud services use protective strategies like access controls, firewalls, and gateways to ensure that all access to healthcare data is protected from third-party intrusions.

Conclusion

Healthcare sectors are vulnerable to cyber threats due to a lack of security measures to protect their sensitive data. Cyber-attacks can result in corruption, theft, and manipulation of critical client information, endangering many lives. Implementing these best healthcare practices ensures the implementation of good security hygiene and the protection of data.

Protect Your Sensitive Data With These Super Useful Guidelines

June 23, 2022/0 Comments/in Privacy /by News Desk

Sensitive data is defined as any information that is protected against unwarranted disclosure. If you’re running a business in the information era, chances are you’re collecting sensitive information. Company data, employee information, and customer records are all targeted by cyber criminals on a regular basis. In 2021 alone, Americans lost nearly seven billion dollars to cybercrime.

This number is expected to grow. The following will explore a few things you can do to help protect your company’s sensitive data.

Of course, every industry has its own specifics when it comes to data. It’s a good idea to do further research into your particular field and see what sorts of cybercrime disproportionately target businesses within your industry and of your size.

Password Education

If you have staff that accesses company accounts or devices while working from home or within the office, it’s important to educate them about proper password selection. A good password is much more difficult to hack than a poor password. You can even increase your security by setting new password parameters. You can require your staff to update their password at regular intervals; this way if someone you don’t want accessing company data ends up figuring out a password, they have only a short time frame within which it could help them access company information.

Restrict Administrative Privileges

Limit who within the company is able to make changes to your network that could potentially break-the system. Part of security involves reducing risk, and the fewer people who can damage your network, the less likely you are to experience network damage due to employee error. Of course, you need to balance this with allowing employees to do their job without having to jump through unnecessary hoops or feeling like they’re micromanaged. The right amount of access is going to vary from company to company.

Email Hacking

One of the most common ways that hackers and cybercriminals gain access to company information is through email hacking and scams. Part of your staff training should include proper examination of emails to determine whether the sender can be trusted or not. Email security involves everyone who is using a work email account, not just your security team.

Conduct Regular Backups

One of the ways that data breaches can cost companies money is by damaging or stealing data. If you have a backup of all your important information, you know that you’ll be able to get your hands on the stolen information again. Ideally, you want an encrypted and offline backup in addition to a cloud-based backup. Digital backups help protect you from data loss in the event of a fire, flood, or even a coffee incident. Physical backups help protect you from data loss in the event of cybercrime.

Antivirus Software

No matter what digital devices you use within your company, antivirus software can help keep you safe. This kind of software will scan any applications or program installation requests before they launch for dangers. This can help catch any problems that slip past your staff in the form of email attachments or other forms of cyber attacks.

Keep Things Updated

You know when you get those messages about updating your software? It turns out those are really important. Often, updates are created by companies when vulnerabilities in their systems have been discovered. Updates can improve weak points in a program’s security that are known. If software companies know there’s a flaw, chances are hackers also know there’s a flaw. If you don’t update, you’re leaving your devices with big openings.

Continuity Plan

Just like you are taught fire drills in school, it’s a good idea for you to practice data breaches at work. When a cybercrime happens, it’s vital that you’re able to act quickly and salvage all that you can. A plan of action can help keep you prepared in the event that something goes wrong security-wise. This can help you protect your financial standing, business brand, customers, and employees.

Conduct Regular Risk Assessments

Hackers are always studying and finding new ways to breach data security systems. This means you need to regularly examine your security measures. Something that worked six months ago might be obsolete now, and the only way you’re going to figure that out is if you constantly revisit your security system and any space it has for improvement. Be sure to read up on the latest cybercrime news as part of this process.

The above information should help you manage your company’s data security needs. Again, every business is different, and this means that you might have security particulars not included on this list. For best results, speak to a local security provider to figure out what best suits your business.

Privacy in the Workplace Is Important for These 6 Reasons

June 3, 2022/0 Comments/in Workplace /by News Desk

In everyone’s life, privacy is as vital as social engagement. The self-expression and mental development of a person can be limited if there is not enough privacy. When it comes to the lack of privacy in the office, employees can feel that they do not have enough autonomy.

According to studies, approximately 85% of employees complain about a lack of privacy at work. This often leads to lower productivity. In the worst-case scenario, lack of privacy will be seen as an insult to an employee’s dignity, resulting in a drop in morale.

The following are six primary reasons why privacy in the workplace is important.

1. Information Security in the Workplace

One of the many things companies deal with is an enormous amount of information. Those can be information in digital or physical form, and they can go from simple ones, like personal customer details or credit card numbers, to large ones, such as sensitive government secrets or corporate information. No matter which category they belong to, a secure, safe, and private environment are where they should be held. The employees who are responsible for keeping this information safe often require a private workspace. It is due to identity theft being a big problem recently.

Companies cannot expect security and privacy of information in open office areas. Therefore, it’s important to give employees who have access to sensitive information a private location in which they can conduct their duties and be sure they are doing them properly.

2. Concentration

Privacy is the main component of concentration. Constant distractions, background noise, and interruptions are the main problems for every employee. Therefore, it is important to back out of the clatter of a busy office, no matter how. By employing acoustic room dividers to reduce the echo and absorb the sound in an office, you may keep your employee’s focus on what he or she should be doing. Scientists claim that quiet music can also help here.

It stimulates the mind and gives a sense of personal seclusion in the office. It is a great way to boost concentration when you are surrounded by noisy colleagues.

3. Personal Space

Science proves that every person requires at least four feet of personal space while talking with someone. This also applies to office space. Companies should provide the required personal space for every employee if they want them to be satisfied and productive workers who can get along with their co-workers and get their job well done. A sense of privacy and personal space makes people feel at ease, so a lack of it will result in employees not being in the right frame of mind to work.

What can companies do? They can afford quiet zones in some parts of the office, especially if we talk about open-office space. Sufficient space and separation between cubicle workers is also a good idea. This way, people will have enough satisfaction and privacy to complete their work.

4. Productivity

Employee productivity dropped dramatically in open-space offices, according to one company’s internal performance tracking system. Employees who complain about working in open-plan offices claim that a lack of privacy there leads to a fall in productivity. They collaborate with co-workers when necessary, then return to their own comfort to do work without interruption. This is a huge problem since every company’s main goal is high productivity.

The first step in resolving this is to address employee privacy requirements. Handling these privacy concerns will not only create happy employees but will also lead to a considerable increase in productivity and efficiency.

5. Creativity

Creativity also necessitates privacy. Creativity must include quiet intervals for meditation and attention, as opposed to a method that always promotes brainstorming in large groups.

It is the flow of information between individuals and groups, as well as between convergent and divergent thought.

6. Trust

To provide vital oversight, many firms are turning to employee-monitoring software. Employees who are monitored, especially those who work remotely, are concerned about their personal privacy, and studies reveal that this new dynamic makes workers “very agitated.” Monitoring, if not executed effectively, can result in serious privacy violations, have a bad impact on company culture, and reduce productivity. The answer is to take a privacy-first strategy to employee monitoring that balances key needs without jeopardising employee privacy.

Workplace privacy has always been important, but in the last two years, it has become much more so. It is a small price to pay since people are satisfied if they feel validated and protected enough to have a private chat or just find time to work without being distracted.

5 Good Reasons to Use PDF Format for Public-Facing Documents

May 3, 2022/0 Comments/in Privacy /by News Desk

PDFs are great tools to use. They work well for legal information, as well as public-facing documents. They are also easy.

However, they do have a couple of downsides that can make them frustrating to use if you don’t know how to work around them.

Keep reading to learn the best way to overcome almost all PDFs limitations, as well as the benefits of using PDFs.

1 Way to Overcome PDF Limitations

There are a couple of problems with PDFs.

Editing PDF files usually costs money and needs specialised programs.
Sometimes, the text in a PDF acts as an image, making it hard to edit.

However, they are both solved the same way. All you have to do, to avoid paying large fees and having to buy specialised software, is to change a PDF into a word document, or something similar. If you don’t know how to change a PDF to Word, you don’t have to worry. It is easy.

Simply find a trustworthy website that will convert them for you, upload the document, and convert! Then, you can edit and adjust your PDF easily and for no cost to you. Plus, since Microsoft has PDF tools included in their program, the files are easy to transfer back into a PDF when you are done.

As you can see, there aren’t many downsides to using a PDF. Once you learn how to get around the specialised software, you can use PDFs and edit them at will.

5 Reasons to Use PDFs

There are a lot of benefits to using PDFs. There is a reason that they are used in many settings and situations.

1. PDFs can be transferred from user to user without any formatting changes.

Sometimes, when you use documents, like Word, or PowerPoint, you may find that on another computer, or when opened with another program, the formatting drastically changes. Fonts will be different and pictures will move, completely ruining your public-facing document. Thankfully, with PDFs, things stay where they should, no matter what.

2. PDFs work on every operating system

No matter what operating system your computer uses (Linux, Apple, Windows), PDFs work the same. This is nice if you are working with multiple people and teams that use different software and operating systems.

Adobe is usually even installed on all computers anymore. This means you don’t even have to worry about

3. It is easy to Compress PDFs

Compressing PDFs is easy and painless, and you don’t even have to go through the process of zipping and unzipping the documents. Compressing documents is useful for not taking up all the space in your computer.

It also helps you to send more documents without having to worry about size limitations.

4. All PDFs are compatible with any update

Another great feature of PDFs is that they are compatible with all updates. Sometimes, with programs like Word, you may find that the document won’t open for you as someone is using an outdated program or is more up-to-date than you.

With PDFs, you don’t have to worry about that. Since they are always compatible, you could have a very old version of Adobe and never have to worry about how the document will be read by others.

5. It is easy to secure PDFs

Securing PDFs is easy. They can be secured with a password. That way, you can transfer sensitive documents via unsecured channels like email or messaging apps without worrying about the information being spread or stolen.

It’s also just as easy to remove the password if you don’t need it anymore.

The New Era of Personal Data Protection in Cyprus

June 11, 2018/7 Comments/in Members News /by News Desk

Data protection is the process of safeguarding important data from corruption, compromise or loss and providing the capability to restore the data to a functional state should something happen to render the data inaccessible or unusable.

Following four years of debate, the 2016/679 regulation of the European Parliament and Council of the 27th of April 2016, is enforced.

The regulation refers to the protection of individuals, concerning the process of their personal data, as well as, the free exchange of those data.

The regulation of the 27th of April 2016 entered into force on the 25th of May 2018.

The aforementioned regulation replaced the Directive 95/46 / EC, the provisions of which were transferred to the 2001 Personal Data Processing Law.

The regulation, unlike the Directive, ensures a high level of harmonisation and it is directly applicable to all European Member States.

The protection of natural persons, in regard to the processing of their personal data, it is a fundamental right. The Article 8 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and Article 16 of the treaty for the operation of the European Union, specify that every person has the right to protect its personal data.

The worldwide integration and rapid development of the data processing, as well as, the functioning of a global market, have resulted in an unparalleled increase flow of data collection, processing and cross-border exchange, from both private companies and public authorities.

Target

The Regulation aims the uniformity and decisive protection of the privacy, of the citizens of the European Union. This requirement ascended, due to the intense daily increasing trend of personal data exchange, worldwide, which in many cases was subject to violations of the personal data of individuals.

Interpretation of Definitions

According to the provisions of the Regulation, “personal data” is defined as the data and any kind of information that directly or indirectly identify an individual. This information may relate to his / her private, professional and / or personal life.

The processing of personal data, in accordance with the Article 4 of the Regulation, indicates that any act or series of operations carried out with or without the use of automated means, such as: collecting, recording, organising, structuring, storing, adapting or modifying, recovering, searching of information, using, disclosing by transmission, distributing or any other form of supplying, associating or combining, restraining, removing or destructing of data.

“Controller” is the natural or legal person, public authority, service or any other body that defines the purposes and manners of processing personal data.

“Processor” is the natural or legal person, public authority, service or any other entity, which process the personal data on behalf of the controller.

Basic Principles of the Regulation

The basic principle of the Regulation is the harmonisation and introduction of a set of data protection standards, which will apply uniformly, throughout the European Union.

Undoubtedly, one of the biggest changes in the regulatory field of personal data protection derives mainly, from the extended jurisdiction of the Regulation, in all the European member states. The Regulation applies to all companies and organisations, which process personal data of people residing in the European Union, irrespective of the company’s registered office location.

Additionally, the Regulation refers to all private and public enterprises, as well as, government authorities that collect, process and generally manage personal data of customers, employees, associates or other natural persons, which are European citizens.

In summary, the new Regulation applies to all businesses that process personal data of European citizens, regardless of their location.

Moreover, an equally important characteristic of the Regulation is to introduce and strengthen the rights of individuals, whose personal data are being processed.

Additionally, it is notable to mention that the new Regulation introduced new obligations to businesses on the way they process personal data.

In fact, the Regulation is significantly increases the obligations of all entities that manage personal data of European citizens.

Severe amount penalties, according to Article 83 of the Regulation will be imposed to offenders, with fines ranging from €10,000,000 to €20,000,000 or from 2% to 4% of the total annual global turnover of the previous business year of a business. The fines will be applied according to the nature of the violation. Hence, the heavier fines will be exercised for breaches concerning the basic principles of the Regulation, related to data processing, data transfer in a third country without the consent of the individual and to the non-compliance with an order or limitation of the data processing, imposed by the supervisory authority.

Decisions, which are issued by the supervising authorities, in the context of the fine exercise power, will be subject to appeal before the Administrative Court on the basis of Article 146 of the Constitution.