Article summary
- Businesses in Nigeria face an increased risk of data breaches due to poor data security protocols, with hackers targeting various industries such as oil, telecom, finance, and healthcare.
- Intelics, a digital transformation company, offers secure cloud storage services to help businesses strengthen their data security and compliance measures, providing end-to-end data processing and secure storage systems.
- To enhance data security, businesses can develop a robust data security plan, adopt secure cloud computing services, invest in off-site physical data storage, train employees on data security best practices, and regularly review and update data security measures. Intelics provides expertise in implementing these measures and offers data migration services for secure storage and management.
Data is the new fuel powering different aspects of business from recruitment to financial projections to marketing and product development.
However, businesses in Nigeria are prone to data breaches due to poor data security protocols and tools. In 2022, Punchng reported that hackers attacked 39% of computers in the oil sector through the internet, email, and other data points.
Another article reports that cyberattacks on SMEs in Nigeria went up by 89% in 2022. Businesses in the Telecom, Financial, and Healthcare industry are also victims of cyberattacks.
At its core, hackers employ tactics like social engineering, phishing, malware, DDoS, and ransomware attacks to cripple the activities of unprepared businesses leading to substantial revenue losses.
In light of these developments, digital transformation company Intelics is helping businesses take charge of their data through secure Cloud storage services. Here are a few decisions you can take to strengthen your data security and compliance.
Develop a data security plan
One of the biggest challenges SMEs face that creates an opening for hackers is the lack of a robust data security plan. A data security plan helps to ensure there’s no margin for error or unprotected access points as one infrastructure manages the end-to-end data processes.
Intelics’ data experts help businesses create and implement these security protocols by integrating their suite of cloud computing services for hybrid and private architecture.
With this extra layer of support, you can enjoy end-to-end data processing that complies with privacy laws and uses secure storage systems without having to invest in setting up a physical storage facility.
Adopt secure cloud computing services
Unlike network storage in onsite office locations, cloud storage service offers multiple layers of security like 2FA authentication and real-time monitoring. In addition, cloud storage allows you to retrieve data fast, share information, track changes, and update information in real time.
Intelics’ data migration services serve businesses that want to implement secure data storage and have better control over end-to-end data management.
The service allows you to migrate bulk data to AWS/Azure with offline data transfer, migrate entire instances, applications, and data, or enjoy end-to-end managed services.
Cloud computing allows customers to access the software, hardware, and other necessary infrastructure required to run its daily operations. Instead of controlling every aspect of data security control on-site, customers can easily outsource the data security needs to a prominent and reputable Managed Cloud Service Provider like Intelics
Data security in cloud – best practices to be followed
- Intelics being a cloud service provider understands that Encryption is key to protecting and securing data in transit and data at rest.
- For protecting data in transit, appropriate encryption of sensitive data is finalised prior to moving to the cloud and/or using encrypted connections (HTTPS, SSL, TLS, FTPS, etc.) to protect the contents of data in transit.
- For protecting data at rest, organisations can simply encrypt sensitive data prior to storing them.
- Customers are given the facility to choose Service provider-managed encryption options as well. Where possible, clients are guided to use customer-managed keys as they provide better control.
- Customers are advised to consider an extra layer of data security via the implementation of Data classification (Restricted, Confidential, Sensitive, and Unclassified) and create a data usage policy.
- Back up (Full, Incremental, Differential) data regularly to ensure availability of data and perform periodic recovery operations to check correctness.
- Moreover, ensuring data-level monitoring is in place, and logs meet all the compliance requirements, if any, of the department of the customer organisation.
Implementing this solution gives you access to a tier-4 certified data center, secure ecosystem, 4 copy cloud with built-in 2-way DR, spin & leaf architecture, and Arbor-based DDoS protection for optimal data security.
Invest in off-site physical data storage services
Online data might be prone to data breach risk; however, offline data storage offers a backup plan to keep the business running in case of downtime.
Companies in Nigeria can take advantage of Intelics’ secure data storage for hardcopy files. This service allows you to keep proprietary data and other sensitive company information safe in a secure vault with up-to-date security and file preservation measures.
Train employees on data security best practices
Most data security issues are a result of employees’ negligence. With the growing adoption of technology and remote work, businesses must invest in training staff in data security best practices.
This approach will ensure that they can identify social engineering activities, Phishing emails and utilise your data security systems to their highest potential.
Regularly review and update your data security measures
In the world of technology, the rules are constantly changing, with sophisticated tools for hacking or compliance changes hovering over them.
Hence, businesses must take precautions to ensure they are always up to date. With Intelics’ services, you enjoy frequent data security updates and compliance assessments to ensure everything works smoothly.
Getting started with Intelics’ data security services
Nigerian SMEs are most hit by data breaches due to a lack of data security infrastructure or technical Know-how. As the technology adoption by businesses in Nigeria grows, there will be more significant cyber threats. Companies must protect their data, and Intelics can be your trusted and tested partner to navigate the future.