Data security is as important as securing our bank account information. It serves as important information that must be secured not just to avoid financial insecurity, but the person’s personal security. It is also vital for companies that need to secure their important company data to ensure that the organization is free from internet hackers. Confidential pieces of information used for payment process, client information, and even bank account information to personal files as well as the documents must be safely stored. This information, once fallen into the hands of a person with no authorization is a potential danger to a person and business security. In addition, government offices and executives must also ensure their data security. The purpose of this writing is to persuade the importance of data security, not just for our personal benefit, but for the small and big businesses as well. Being aware of data security importance is not enough to achieve the overall data security as there may have some recommendations based on the writings that can be followed and can be taking into consideration whether personally or by businesses.
Protecting the data is important for small businesses. Almost every day, data theft happens either on purpose or by accident (bridgecapitalsolutionscorp.com). Security wise, one data that has been stolen can be a big risk to hundreds or even thousands of the company’s consumers. This occurrence of data theft may also enable the business competitors to gain access to the company’s vital information and may affect the business negatively. That is why protecting the business data should be one of the company’s main focus not just to protect them, but their consumers as well.
Security breach is one of the most important reasons of data protection and security. Aside from the fact that possible unauthorized access of company’s vital information may happen, no one knows what could happen to these data being used for business operation. A computer is a machine that may crash anytime, unfortunate event could also happen during or after office hours, which company may potentially lose their data, or the main computer server could crash unexpectedly. These events are risks when it comes to data storage that is why data security is very important whether or not the business is big. Backing up the data on a regular basis is one of the most important tips that companies must do to secure their data. Jennifer Gregory asserts that creating a back up data does not mean copying unencrypted data to a portable device, but they all data must be encrypted after saving them to avoid the risk of having them stolen (Gregory, 2012).
In our current technological trends, more and more people are using internet to do business, from purchasing a small item online to having a business to business transaction over the internet. Emerging technology allows more people to easily access the data being used to do these transactions that is why data security plays an important role in protecting this information (microsolve.com.au).
Data security is of highest importance especially when the business collects data from their clients whether or not over the internet. This data can be very private, which we may not prefer to share with just anyone. Moreover, once sensitive data has been entrusted and stored, the law requires that it should be well-protected. Protecting data may depend on adequate management of information, limiting the access, and providing limit on the period in which data is stored.
Nowadays, data is considered valuable commodity as it can be used by data thieves to earn profit. Securing our data is very important so as to put more security over our personal bank information. In our current technological status, more people are using internet to make transactions over the internet. An individual may sell and purchase an item through online store in which they must normally provide their personal information so as to complete the transaction.
If our personal data will not be secured during this event, the risk of losing our money is very high. Hackers are experts who can acquire these data for their own good. This is why banks have more intensive security features when it comes to making an online bank transaction.
Moreover, many people are now using social media such as Facebook to communicate with their friends and families. In a way, they primarily needed to provide their basic personal information so they can create their own social media account. In this case, a person is at risk of becoming a victim of identity theft. This is when your own identity will be used by another person to take advantage of it either to steal money from another person, or to use your own identity so they can cover themselves from fraud activities that they might involve with. However, people must be more aware and take further steps to ensure that they will not be a victim of identity theft.
If using a public computer, simply clear all the floating logins and password so that there will be no trace of personal information will be left. Changing logins and passwords regularly will also reduce the risk of being a victim. It is also advisable to monitor your credit card and bank statements regularly so you will know if there is something awry. If possible, shred your sensitive documents that are already outdated. These documents, if stolen, can be used in favor of stealing your money (wsj.com).
Data security can also protect a person from physical harm. That is because some crimes started by identifying their potential victims. Criminals can have your complete name, but once they are able to get more of your personal data, risks become higher. They could have the advantage of planning a crime against a person as they already have the information that they need. We should also take our own extra care as the government may not be able to monitor their plans that easy.
On the other hand, data security is also important in government. Cybersecurity breach is always one of the threats in government offices and agencies (Ferrer, 2012). Government stores important national-security and civilian data in government information systems. This data is being stored and shared between agencies and even stored in their own personal devices. Using these outside devices as well as the virtualization software make their networks susceptible to hack and attack. Data security is essential as there are numerous reports about attacks on government websites, agencies, and their employees (Ferrer, 2012).
Without the data security system in the government, the risk for national security attack becomes higher, which will affect the whole country. Similarly, governmental functions and its agencies may be paralyzed once cybersecurity breach happened. Hackers will be able to shutdown websites and be able to access vital classified and civilian information and even worse, government agency’s information system dealing with foreign intelligence can be accessed.
The importance of data security must not be neglected. Since more and more people are using the internet with their everyday lives, it is imperative for us to know what data or information can we divulge and provide limits in providing our personal information as much as possible. Companies on the other hand should continuously use data security systems for the sake of their clients and to ensure that company information will also be protected. The government, as they are already aware of these data breach attacks, must develop more sophisticated software that would primarily block potential hackers as the government may have most of the vital data of most people in the country. However, overall data security can basically be achieved and must be initiated from our own practice. Having the personal knowledge of what is currently happening regarding data insecurity risks along with careful handling of the important data are the primary key in realizing that data security is a very important aspect of our modern technological life.
Works Cited
Bridge Capital Solution Corp. "Financial Services New York | Data Protection for Small Biz." Bridge Capital Solutions Corp. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Ferrer, Anita. "Why Cybersecurity Is So Important in Government IT [Infographic]." FedTech Magazine. N.p., 25 Sept. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Gregory, Jennifer G. "Data Protection for Small Business." OPEN Forum. N.p., 7 Mar. 2012. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
"Importance of Data Protection | What's Happening in the IT World." Professional IT Support | Infrastructure Solutions | CMS Websites | IT Network Support. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
Schiff, Jennifer. "15 Data Security Tips to Protect Your Small Business." The online tech resource for small business owners and managers - Small Business Computing. Queenstreet Inc., 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
The Wallstreet Journal. "Identity Theft & Credit Card Fraud – How to Protect Yourself - Personal Finance - WSJ.com." How-To Guides from the Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2014.
