Do US Companies Need to Comply with GDPR?

The question of whether US companies need to comply with GDPR can be a complex one, and depends on who your customer base is. First, it helps to explain a little more about what GDPR is, and who it protects.

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation requires organizations to safeguard the data that they collect and protect their residents’ data rights. The law is designed to give EU residents more control over how their personal data is used.

But what does this mean for companies that aren’t within the borders of the European Union? Which companies are required to follow these guidelines? The short answer is that US companies need to pay attention to this law as well because the law is written to protect the rights of European consumers – even in a commercially global society.

 

What US Companies Need to Do to Comply with GDPR

If your company collects any personal data of European Union residents, you’ll need to comply with GDPR. The data could be as simple as the email addresses in a marketing list, or IP addresses of the people who visit your website.

The way this could be enforced is through the help of foreign governments through mutual assistance treaties, or other mechanisms.

 

What US Companies Can Do to Maintain GDPR Compliance

• Audit Your Data Collection Practices to Look for European Personal Data – It’s important for businesses to have a firm understanding of what personal information they collect, and whether any of it belongs to EU residents. If you do find this information within the scope of your audit, it’s important to take the necessary steps to become GDPR compliant.
• Begin Telling Customers Why You Process Their Data – If you process data based on user consent, you’ll need to be transparent about the information with your data subjects (the owners of the personal data you collect).
• Evaluate How You Process Data So You Can Improve – Once you understand how your data is collected and processed, you can begin to make the appropriate adjustments required to protect EU residents and maintain GDPR compliance.
• Create a Data Processing Agreement with Any Vendors – The data controller can be held partially responsible if your third-party clients violate any GDPR guidelines. A data processing agreement can help you clear up any gray areas. This includes subcontractors, email providers, cloud storage, or anyone holding onto third-party data.
• Appoint Someone Within Your Organization as Data Protection Officer – Larger organizations are required to appoint someone to this position to monitor their use of data.
• Designate an EU Representative – Some larger non-EU companies may be required to designate a representative based in the EU to manage data.
• Understand Your Role in a Data Breach – Sometimes the worst-case scenario might be inevitable. In the event of such cases, the use of encryption, and strong security measures can reduce your fines and your notification obligations in the aftermath.
  

Following these Steps to Maintain GDPR Compliance 

American companies that process the personal data of EU residents are required to comply with GDPR. By following the steps above, you can protect the personal data of EU residents and all data subjects. This can help you avoid scrutiny from EU regulators.

US Data Privacy Laws: Are US Citizens Protected?

We tend to hear more about individual state laws when it comes to data privacy, but there are a few US data privacy laws in place that protect consumers within specific industries. Even still, there is no over-arching data privacy law in the US, like there is in Europe.

Data protection and data privacy laws are an increasingly hot issue around the world as we hear more news stories about private companies misusing the data and information that they are collecting. The European Union’s GDPR guidelines for example, is an all-encompassing, central regulation from a federal body that protects all citizens.

In the U.S, there are several vertically focused US data privacy laws that target individual sectors of the economy, such as HIPAA and health care. There are also several laws popping up that are coming from California, Nevada, and other states. The Federal Trade Commission has enforcement powers at the federal level and the state attorneys have the same power at the state level.

 

US Data Privacy Laws 

Below are some of the privacy laws protecting US citizens. They are not as wide in scope as the GDPR.

The Privacy Act 

The Federal Privacy Act addresses concerns about the creation and use of computerized databases and individuals’ privacy rights. The act is restricted to only US citizens and permanent residents of the country, meaning that no one else can sue under the Privacy Act. It also only pertains to selected federal government agencies.

In other words, citizens have the right to access data held by these government agencies, and a right to copy or correct that information. The law restricts the ability of agencies to share this information with one another, and individuals maintain the right to sue the government for any violation.

Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act

HIPAA requires healthcare providers and related organizations to implement safeguards to protect sensitive personal health information. Under HIPAA, patients have the right to access their health records and request corrections. The penalties for companies found in violation of HIPAA are based on level of negligence.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

This statute requires financial institutions and other businesses that offer financial services and products to disclose how they protect and share private information. The customers are then given the right to opt out of any data sharing. Businesses in the financial services industry must protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their clients’ personal information.

Financial institutions can face fines as high as $100,000 for each violation.

State Privacy Laws

California Consumer Privacy Act

The CCPA gives Californians a strong level of control over their personal data. It gives residents of the state similar control over their privacy as the GDPR in the European Union. It allows residents of the state to sue a business if it fails to implement security measures and your data is compromised in a breach.

It also allows residents to understand what data is being collected and how to access it. Residents can also find out what data is being sold or disclosed, and to whom. Residents have the right not to be discriminated against as well and can opt out of the sale of their data.

Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act

The Virginia state law gives residents more control over their data. This law is set to take effect in 2023, giving businesses an opportunity to work their way into compliance. This law will require businesses to limit their collection of data to what is adequate, relevant, and reasonably necessary. It also requires businesses to evaluate the risks associated with specific activities.

Residents have the right to access data, the right to rectification, the right to deletion, the right to data portability, the right to object to processing, and the right to be free from discrimination.

There are also many state laws that are in some form of legislative review.

What’s the Purpose of Data Protection?

Proper data protection can help you through a number of everyday circumstances.

Whether you realize it or not, as a consumer, your data is submitted everywhere. If you’ve made phone calls, used social media, filed taxes, or used wearable technology, chances are you’ve given some of your data to be able to do these things.

There are certainly benefits to partaking in these events or using this technology. In many instances, it’s a necessary step to partake in whatever technology you are looking to use. But just because it’s a necessary step in the process, doesn’t make it safe.

What is Data Protection?

To talk about the need for data protection, it helps to have a working framework of what it is. Personal data is any information that relates to a private person. In the online world, information is rampant, and often shared by the individual.

Data protection refers to any practices, safeguards, or rules that protect this personal information and the rights of the data controller. It gives residents more control over whether they must give this information up to enjoy specific products or services, and how it can be used.

The Drawbacks to Data and Why Data Protection Matters

The personal data that you choose to share often says a lot about you and who you are. For data collectors, it can serve as an insight into your thoughts, activities, and your life. This data isn’t harmless at this point, and when in the wrong hands, it can be used to exploit you.

This is especially troublesome for vulnerable members of society such as senior citizens, members or repressed or marginalized groups, or even journalists, activists, or human rights defenders. It’s why a handful of states within the U.S, and several countries around the world have taken additional steps to protect their residents’ data.

Why Citizens Need to Be Protected

There are two essential reasons for the government to step in and protect citizens’ individual data rights.

Current laws and the current reality don’t mix – Technology and innovation move faster than regulation. People find new ways to capitalize on technology, and sometimes there are people who use that technology with ill intentions.

With the internet, people have been sharing more information as part of their time online. Data protection laws help to protect people’s privacy from those who wish to exploit this information for their own personal gain. Any privacy laws that existed before the internet will not meet the needs of today’s modern world.

Corporations are not policing themselves when it comes to the use of data – A common theme within the US is that corporations and businesses can police themselves. But when an action is within their self-interest, it becomes difficult for them to stop. This is not a methodology likely to work in the favor of private residents.

A Prominent Issue

Data protection is an increasingly prominent issue around the globe, and more lawmakers are looking at how to protect their residents’ data. It’s become an important area where residents can benefit from more protection.

 

Encryption and Data Recovery

When it comes to creating a safer data environment, encryption is an excellent tool. There are several benefits to masking your data and communications in this manner, and it’s created a more secure environment for both businesses that store personal data, and their customers who submit it. Yet encryption and data recovery don’t mix easily.

When you choose to encrypt data or communication there is a real possibility that you won’t be able to access your data again, in the event of a loss. Encrypted data can provide headaches when it comes to data recovery.

 

Encryption and Data Recovery: Why is this So Complex?

 

When you experience data loss, you may be surprised to hear that encryption can make things more complicated. Essentially, when data is encrypted, it is scrambled into a pattern that equates to complete gibberish, without the encryption key. That key is what is necessary to unscramble the information in its original form.

The key is a specific algorithm from the hardware or software being used, and if it’s lost, it’s near impossible to make a recovery. It’s more complex and sophisticated than password protection, which can be cracked by hackers or cybercriminals.

 

Types of Encryption Used

 

There are two main types of data encryption – symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric relies on the same key to decrypt and encrypt data. This poses a small security risk in that more people hold the key. Asymmetric encryption relies on different keys for encryption or decryption, and they’re known as public and private keys.

When you want to send someone encrypted data, you use their public key for encryption. They would then use their private key for decryption.

 

When Encryption is The Right Tool

 

It’s important to think about this for a moment. Hard drives crash. Spills happen. Hackers attack innocent people. With so much that can go wrong in the world of cyber security and data recovery, why do people still use encrypted data, even if in the event of a crisis, their data is near unrecoverable?

Encryption is certainly a risk. When you encrypt data, the gamble is that the data may also be unrecoverable, even by you. The whole purpose of data encryption is to ensure that specific data never falls into the wrong hands. It’s a method for making data and information secure enough that it’s almost impossible to recover without the key.

This is a dilemma that pits data security against data recovery. When the data security is that strong, it hamstrings any ability to eventually recover the data. Before encrypting any of your data, it’s important to determine whether the risks involved are worth it. For instance, students, home users, or anyone who isn’t concerned about the sensitive data being stored on their machine may be creating more problems in the future event of data loss.

It’s important to keep these considerations in mind when you make the decision regarding encryption in your data security efforts.

What is Web 3.0 and What Does it Mean for Data Recovery?

Web 3.0, often referred to as the semantic web, is based on creating decentralized Internet technology through public blockchains that store data. This will allow data to be stored in a way that doesn’t rely on a centralized repository, removing single-point authorities in the mix.

The focus will be on creating more intelligent and semantic websites. Large companies and websites that thrived in a Web 2.0 environment may not play as big of a role in a decentralized model. It will be interesting to follow the role of data recovery as the web continues to evolve in this way.

 

A Quick History of the Internet

When the Internet first came online, the focus revolved around information being disseminated through text, and the use of hyperlinks to jump from one location to another in an organized fashion. It began with a few key players and eventually grew to the point where nearly all businesses or organizations must have a website to function properly.

Desktop browsers became a fixture on personal computers and people enjoyed the conveniences of being connected in a new way, through the internet.

The web eventually evolved to emphasize user-generated content, and interactive websites. There’s a focus on social media, blogs, and other forms of sharing. This became the Web 2.0 model. The term was used to denote this shift to a more participatory form of connection.

 

How Web 3.0 Fits In

The focus of Web 3.0 is to build a scalable internet platform that is decentralized. Blockchain technology is being used to accomplish this. The advantage to blockchain technology is that it is a proven means for conducting peer-to-peer interaction in public, in a highly secure manner.

Blockchain is a ledger that stores data across “blocks” that are spread out but linked together in a chain. Bitcoin has used the blockchain to function in a highly safe manner. More and more entities are following this model to operate in a safe, and decentralized manner.

 

Web 3.0 and Data Security

As mentioned above, one of the key tenets to Web 3.0 is the usage of blockchain to create a more decentralized environment. Web 3.0 will also rely more heavily on artificial intelligence and machine learning. Even more data and information will be collected, but it will be done in a decentralized and secure manner.

As Web 3.0 continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see what the role of data recovery specialists will be. The decentralized nature of the blockchain makes it a difficult (yet not impossible) target for hackers, or anyone with ill intent. One type of attack is called an eclipse attack, where a hacker replaces a node to essentially steal the data that would reside in that location. Companies may need the services of data recovery specialists following an attack.

Despite this, Web 3.0 brings the nature of the Internet away from centralized hubs of information. It should put more power in people’s hands, and reduce the risk of the misuse of data by large companies. As this technology emerges, there will be risks and benefits to this type of data distribution model.

 

Data Recovery Challenges for 2022

While modern technology continues to shape the world that we live in, there are certainly trade-offs to the conveniences that this lifestyle offers. Mobile technology for example, can make data security and data recovery more complex. There are plenty of data recovery challenges for 2022 that we’ll explore a little further.

Many larger companies have the budget to consider cybersecurity and data protection measures, but it has moved from something that has become essential for every business to address.

 

These are the Data Recovery Challenges for 2022 You Should Be Addressing

Cybersecurity Has Become Essential

Any company that stores customer data can become a popular target for hackers, and those looking to do ill will. Employees working from personal devices or accessing company documents from public Wi-Fi can complicate cybersecurity efforts. This is an issue that must be addressed, no matter the size of your company.

 

The Internet of Things (IoT) Opens Up New Threats

While the Internet of Things (IoT) brings a world of new business and personal conveniences (who doesn’t want a refrigerator that can order your milk?), it can also become a source of new vulnerabilities. When one device is vulnerable to attack, it opens the entire network to be exposed. You’re only as strong as your most unsecured device.

 

Data Recovery for Artificial Intelligence

It used to be that data recovery efforts were limited to computers or mobile devices. But as more artificial intelligence devices come online, the data recovery industry must stay at the forefront of the new technology. The best data recovery companies will stay at the forefront by hiring the most innovative engineers to keep pace in the fast-paced of this technological development.

 

Web 3.0 Means Opportunity and Risk

The web is evolving once again. More websites are moving to a decentralized model, built on blockchain technology and the mass collection of more data. While blockchain has proven to be extremely safe, it’s hard to assure 100-percent safety and protection in this type of environment. As this trend continues to emerge, it could become one of the most significant data recovery challenges for 2022.

 

New Storage Devices

As companies continue to collect larger volumes of data, the demand for technologies to store that data continues to grow. The data recovery industry is tasked with keeping up with these new devices and establishing best practices for data recovery. For instance, many NAS systems come with high-end features that may be convenient to the customer until they experience data loss. When that happens, data recovery specialists are forced to wade through the complexities to establish the best path for data recovery.

 

A Year of Innovation and Data Recovery Challenges 

The data recovery challenges for 2022 are going to continue to revolve around new technological developments. As new technologies come online that make all our lives a little easier and more convenient, it’s important to realize that there are tradeoffs. Data recovery companies are working to stay ahead of these technologies, but they do make the process of recovering lost data more complex.

 

The Various Types of Data Recovery

Any time a computer crashes it can result in data loss. Maybe it’s a few small files that you can continue without, or maybe it’s more significant files that are central to your core operations. The type of data recovery necessary in each circumstance will depend on the type of hardware and the type of crash.

Below are some of the various types of data recovery that you might find, and an explanation of each.

The Different Types of Data Recovery Available to You

RAID Data Recovery

Because of the complexity of RAID systems, the potential for damage or data loss is higher. They require a higher level of systems expertise to operate efficiently. When RAID systems go down it can lead to extreme financial loss.

If you have an issue with any type of RAID system, it’s important to call a data recovery specialist right away. A DIY approach to RAID data recovery can cause irreversible damage.

Hard Drive Recovery 

Hard drive failures comprise a lot of the necessary data recovery work. Everyday hard drives become more advanced, and they can hold more data. When people load up large hard drives without backing them up, the need for hard drive data recovery services becomes more and more essential every day.

The more data your machine is capable of holding, the more it can lose. While we all strive for machines capable of meeting our needs, the potential for greater loss is also there.

Tape Data Recovery

Tape systems allow for large backups, but they are a complex undertaking. When tape data needs to be recovered, it’s best to send it to a professional data recovery system yourself, rather than attempting it on your own. An error on the DIY side could result in unrecoverable data.

Optical Data Recovery

Any data that is written or read by a laser is considered optical media (Think CDs or DVDs). This type of media can fail for any number of reasons. Overuse can cause scratches. The player can ruin the media. Excessive handling or touching can cause issues.

While these types of media aren’t as heavily in use as they were a decade ago, it’s still helpful to know that data recovery specialists can help with optical storage. CDs, DVDs and other optical media can be made worse in any DIY attempt. It’s best to send this to a data recovery professional so that they can fix.

Removable Media Recovery

 Removable hard drives, thumb drives, or any removable storage device falls into this category. These devices are quickly growing in the amount of data that they’re able to store. But they can fall susceptible to physical damage or human error.

Overwritten data, disk reformatting, or viruses can cause them to malfunction, or lose data. A professional data recovery service is still your best bet when data in these formats is lost.

Flash Media Data Recovery

Flash media is popular with digital photography and other uses. But like any other form of digital media, it is also susceptible to data loss. If you discover that your flash media has undergone data loss, a recovery specialist can help.

Call on a Company with Experience

Your data is the lifeline of your business. It’s important to do everything within your means to achieve recovery, and that means calling a data recovery specialist that has experience helping customers in the same situation that you’re in.

If you’re looking to recover crucial information, it’s important to act fast, while that data may still be coverable. Contact us today to find out more about how we can help.

What Professional Data Recovery Offers That DIY Solutions Do Not

Data loss is a fact of life. If you’ve been working on a computer for any amount of time, chances are you may have faced some form of data loss issue at some point. The reality is that professional data recovery offers some distinct advantages over trying to recover files on your own.

You may be looking at DIY data recovery as the obvious answer to your problems when you lose an important work file – that’s understandable. After all, there’s typically free or affordable software that you can download and attempt the project yourself, versus shipping your hard drive to a professional, or bringing it to them. On the surface, this makes sense.

But data recovery is more nuanced than this simplified look. There are advantages to a professional data recovery solution that may not be immediately recognizable, but they’re critical to your decision.

The Benefits of Professional Data Recovery vs. a DIY Approach

A DIY data recovery approach comes in a few different forms. There are approaches that rely on free or affordable software, physical hardware fixes, or repeated reboots. All these methods have one problem in common – the attempts may cause further damage, and make it harder to recover your files in the end.

While DIY offers the temptation and convenience of immediate results, often more problems can arise from this type of approach. There are some distinct benefits that come from hiring a professional to recover lost data.

• Reliability – When you attempt to recover data through an unknown software package, or begin tinkering with the hardware, there’s no guarantee that the experiments you try will work. Expert technicians can quickly and easily recover almost any lost data. When your technology is in the hands of professionals, you’re more likely to find the results that you’re looking for.
• Affordability – Contrary to what you might believe, data recovery services don’t have to break the bank. In many cases, it’s quite affordable. It may help to approach the experience thinking about what the cost of working without your lost data may be.
• Lighten your workload – Trying to recover lost data or repair a computer is stressful. The DIY approach can take you away from other core necessary tasks related to your work. When you outsource this, you can free up your schedule for these tasks.
• Get Critical Data Back in Usable Format – Sometimes when you recover data, it doesn’t always look the same as it did before it was lost. A professional data recovery specialist can help you regain access to critical data in a usable format.

When You Lose Crucial Data, Go For the Dependable Solution

We understand why the DIY options for data recovery are so tempting for people to follow. But when it comes to recovering critical data, it’s important to let specialists look at it for a stronger likelihood of that critical data being recovered.

There are steps that people can take to reduce the likelihood of experiencing a data loss, such as saving and backing up their work, stronger password security, two-factor authentication, and running all security updates. But when these measures fail and you need to recover critical data, a professional data recovery service is likely your best option.

The Most Common Causes of Data Loss

Data loss is a serious problem for any business or organization. Losing valuable files is equivalent to losing time and money. If the problem is serious enough to require the help of a professional, there’s also the cost of the repairs.

Data loss can occur for several reasons, and it can have varying severity in impact. Below are the most common causes for data loss and what you can do to help prevent this from happening.

User Error

Nobody’s perfect. Sometimes employees make mistakes. Sometimes management does. When files are inadvertently deleted or overwritten it can be problematic.

Proper training might help. It may help employees to know whether they must back up the files, or if the files they’ve been working on will be saved automatically.

Automation in the workflow can cut down on the amount of human interaction required. Recovery may be as simple as opening the trash or recycling folders. Other times it may be accessing previous versions of a document. Sometimes file recovery software, or a data recovery specialist may be needed.

Unexpected Software Corruption

Improper shutdowns can cause significant issues with your data and result in corrupted software. Sometimes software simply corrupts as it ages. When this happens, it may not be usable the next time you need it, or critical information may be deleted from the files.

It’s always important to save your work and shut down any programs safely. When documents are properly saved after changes, it’s more likely that the correct version will be there when you need it.

Viruses and Malware  

Many computer viruses have the capability to bring your machine or even network to a standstill. They can steal or delete significant amounts of valuable data. And what’s worse, is they make their way onto your computer through seemingly innocent routines like email links or phishing scams.

Anti-virus software and regular backups are the best ways to guard against this as well.

Hard Drive Damage

Hardware malfunctions and hard drive damage are a significant cause of data loss. When you think about it, it makes sense. Hard drives are fragile and can easily crash if not cared for properly. They can be damaged by overheating, or a physical hit or drop to the computer. But like any other piece of electronics, they’re also subject to wear and tear over time.

When the computer regularly crashes, or routinely runs slow, it may be time to have your hard drive looked at by a professional.

Hackers or Cyber Criminals

People with ill intent are another cause of data loss. Many think of bad actors from outside the organization. In some circumstances that is the case, but not always.

The unfortunate part is that they can also come from within your organization. Safety measures like two-factor authentication, secure firewalls, and a strong password reset program may all help to keep your network safe from those who intend to do it harm.

Back Your Files Up to Prevent These From Grinding Your Work to a Halt 

There is no good time to experience data loss. In addition to the preventative measures listed above, it’s important to remember to back up your information as much as possible. This can be done by using remote hard drives, cloud storage, or any remote storage options.

Data Protection Threats: Viruses, Ransomware, and Other Types of Malware

There’s no shortage of data protection threats out there these days. These are perilous times for cybersecurity, and keeping your customers’ information safe. As you may be able to tell from watching the news, companies that collect massive amounts of data must protect themselves from hackers using viruses, ransomware, and other types of malware.

Let’s look at some basic cybersecurity threats and what they mean for those who are looking to protect their data. For many, viruses, malware, and ransomware may feel like interchangeable words that all describe a threat to the system, but they do have subtle differences.

Various Types of Data Protection Threats

How Computer Viruses Work

 

Computer viruses are one of the most prevalent data protection threats in the real world today. Much like biological viruses, have the ability to spread from host to host, and replicate within the system. Computer viruses need a host to survive the same way the flu virus would. They need the right programming, and that usually resides within a file or a software system.

Viruses alter the way a computer operates, most often with malicious intent. They can cause system-wide effects, such as damaging the software or destroying data. They can spread through email or text attachments or links. Mobile devices are also susceptible.

An antivirus program can offer a tremendous amount of protection. You can also prevent viruses by not clicking on pop-ups or spam links. Scanning your email attachments can also be a good precautionary measure.

How Ransomware Works

Ransomware is another form of malware. But when ransomware interferes with the operation of your system, it demands a payment to restore your computer to its previous condition. Ransomware frequently pops up after what appears to be a phishing attack.

The messages involved look increasingly trustworthy but can be problematic. Simply clicking on them may give an experienced hacker full access to your computer. The hacker then relies on fear to get what they want. They may freeze the entire computer or even threaten to delete files unless their demands are met.

You can protect your computer from ransomware with antivirus software, a strong firewall and strong passwords.

How Malware Works

Malware is a general term for any type of malicious software. Viruses and ransomware are specific types of malware. With malware, the user’s trouble usually begins when they are tricked into clicking on, or installing a program from somewhere else on the internet.

That click then results in the execution of commands that the user never intended. Some of these actions might include:

• Rendering files inaccessible to the user
• Bombardment with ads
• Rendering a device inoperable
• Slowing down the system
• Installing programs that record keystrokes

A few other types of malware include worms, Trojans, and spyware. Antivirus software can also help to protect against malware. Using an active firewall, strong passwords, and a BIOS/UEFI password can all also help. It can also help to use the services of computer or IT specialists to make sure that your defenses are as strong as they could be.

In the Event of Data Loss from Hackers, Rely on the Experts

These data protection threats are very real. It may be tempting to try and recover your own data after a cyber attack. But the more you run your hard drive or install data recovery software, the more you increase the chance of writing over the lost files. The best thing you can do is to contact experienced data recovery professionals to help you recover any lost files.

 

 

 

 

 

What Happens After a File’s Been Deleted?

After a file’s been deleted, it doesn’t just disappear. The name is a bit of a misnomer. When you hit the delete button intentionally or on accident, that file still exists in the same spot on your computer. The pointer to that file has been removed, making it more difficult to find.

When you see the file in the trash or the recycle bin, it gives another opportunity for recovery. But even removing it from the trash or recycle bin doesn’t fully remove the file from the computer. As mentioned above, it’s simply the pointer that is removed.

Another analogy would be if you lost a road map to your destination. Even if you can’t find your way without a map, the destination still exists. It’s just not immediately accessible. When we stopped using physical card catalogs inside the library, it didn’t mean that there were no more books.

After a File’s Been Deleted It’s Important to Act Fast

After a file has been deleted, it’s important to act fast. This is because when the pointer has been removed, you are giving the computer permission to overwrite the area of the hard drive that is still holding the file.

This is why it becomes important to stop what you’re doing immediately after a file deletion and involve a professional data recovery company before the data is lost for good. Many people may be tempted by a DIY approach in this moment. It’s important to understand that if you use a file recovery program off the internet, you run the risk of overwriting the file during the installation or running of the new software.

File Deletion as a Time Saver

There’s a reason that your computer simply removes the pointer after a file has been deleted. It’s more efficient. The pointer can be removed nearly instantaneously. However, erasing the entire file might take several minutes, depending on the size of the file.

As a time-saving option, Windows and Apple operating systems don’t erase files upon deletion, and when they do erase files, it happens in the background.

When You Need to Recover Deleted Files

If you’ve accidentally deleted a file and you need it recovered, you do have options, but as mentioned above, it’s important to act fast. The more time that passes, the higher the chance that the file will be overwritten, decreasing the likelihood of recovery. Even if it’s been partially overwritten, only a portion of the data may remain available.

The other crucial piece of advice to follow when you’ve accidentally deleted a file is to power down the computer and use it as little as possible. If you have the technical skillset, you can insert the hard drive into another computer, and use another operating system for recovery.

If you don’t have the technical skillset to manage the recovery yourself, the best thing that you can do is to hire an experienced data recovery company that has likely seen recovery cases just like yours.

At We Recover Data, our experienced data recovery specialists work with the highest-level technology and equipment in the industry to efficiently help our customers recover the data that they need after a file has been deleted.

Using a Clean Room for Data Recovery

Data recovery is sensitive work. The slightest disturbances in the environment can cause further damage to the equipment in question.

When you open a hard drive case, the inner workings are exposed, making it sensitive to the air and any surrounding contaminants. When any of the sectors are damaged, it can make data recovery more complex and time-consuming. For these reasons, in sensitive cases, experienced companies rely on clean rooms for data recovery.

Just like medical facilities, integrated circuit manufacturers, and other businesses, data recovery often depends on sterile environments to ensure the integrity of the work. When a professional data recovery company works on your media, they must do what they can to keep outside contaminants away from the delicate components of your equipment. At times, this may require the use of a clean room.

When A Clean Room is Needed

The truth is that not every data recovery case requires a clean room. Yes, the materials are sensitive, but sometimes the job can be completed without it. Clean rooms for data recovery become a better option when the cover on the drive must be removed.

If the cover is off and the drive is powered on, the head that reads the data may come across an obstruction or contaminant, which can lead to further scratches or broken heads. To be clear, it takes an experienced data recovery specialist to make the call on when the clean room is or isn’t necessary.

Clean Room Specifications

Our class 4 and class 5 clean rooms are designed to keep particulates out of the air – preventing any damage to the disk in question. Good air quality becomes extremely important in these cases. The state-of-the-art equipment used inside the clean room environment depends on the air quality standards involved with the recovery effort and can impact the ISO rating of the clean room.

We work hard in every recovery case to ensure that our customers’ drives are never contaminated by the surrounding air. We always complete the work in the appropriate environment for the job.

Clean Rooms for Data Recovery: An Investment in the Necessary Technology

At We Recover Data, we understand the important role of clean rooms for data recovery. This is why we’ve invested in top-notch data recovery tools and technology. We’re committed to maintaining our status as industry leaders. This technology allows advanced recoveries to become possible.

But we understand that not every data recovery case requires this level of technology. For this reason, we maintain a transparent relationship with our customers and only use our top-tier technology when necessary, making data recovery more affordable and accessible to the general public.

 

The Pros and Cons of Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery

There’s no question downtime can spell disaster for your business. Companies need to be ready for data loss, and cloud backup is an effective way to do that. Data loss or cyber theft can run companies out of business, so they need a strong contingency plan.

Strict reliance on on-site data recovery will leave companies vulnerable to disasters such as fire or flooding. Using cloud backup means that your data will exist in a remote location, ready for you in case you need it. Think of it as a data insurance policy.

What Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery Is

Cloud backup is simply sending your data to an offsite vendor. Cloud backup is typically a very secure method for data storage. Regular backups will help to ensure that all of your information can be recovered in the event of a disaster.

Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of this method of data storage.

The Pros of Cloud Backup and Disaster Recovery

The cloud provides businesses with a more robust system for backing up data. Below are some of the advantages.

 Data is Easily Accessible

As long as your internet is up and running, data is available at any time. Data can be accessed from computers, tablets, or phones. Most cloud platforms also offer varying levels of access depending on an employee’s rank within your company, which is another way that your data remains secure.

It’s a Reliable Storage Method

Cloud backup platforms tend to use the latest, most innovative hardware and software to store your data. Any hardware or software upgrades are the responsibility of the cloud service provider, making data storage simpler and more reliable for you.

If something goes wrong with your in-house data storage, it’s your responsibility. If something goes wrong with your cloud storage, it’s theirs. Cloud storage companies have the resources and ability to use top-notch hardware and software solutions to better protect your information.

It’s Highly Secure 

Some of the best cloud platforms use data centers to store your information on multiple power grids. Some might even have armed security. Some data centers even use military-level encryption as an added layer of data protection.

Convenience

Cloud backup can be automated so that you and your team can focus on responsibilities that are more central to your business. If you ever need to recover data, the process is almost always straightforward and easy to understand.

The Cons of Cloud Backup 

There are a few downsides to cloud backup and disaster recovery as well.

Internet is Required  

Following a disaster, your company could face an internet outage that prevents you from being able to access cloud-stored data. If you are without wifi or power for an extended period of time following a fire or flood, this could easily become problematic.

Excessive Bandwidth Requirements

Backing up large amounts of data can be demanding on your bandwidth, slowing the process and causing troubling delays.

Excessive Time Issues

Full disaster recovery can take a significant amount of time, depending on the volume of data lost. This scenario may still require some costly downtime to complete a full recovery.

Is Cloud Backup Right for You?

Cloud backup and disaster recovery almost always provides an advantage for your business. It’s an important tool in your arsenal to protect yourself against the devastating effects of data loss. It can also be used as a method for marketing to your customers that their sensitive data remains safe.

Like anything else, there can be drawbacks. It may still take time to complete a full recovery, especially if the wifi or power remain down. Make sure that you explore the data recovery options that are right for your company.

 

 

What is Digital Forensics?

When crimes are committed, it’s important to have experts ready who can quickly and easily find any type of associated electronic evidence, and that’s where digital forensics comes into play.

We’re all reading more about cybercrime, or computer crime these days. Internet fraud. Theft of corporate or customer payment data. Identity theft. Hackers seeking blackmail payments. All of these crimes involve evidence that resides somewhere on computers or electronic devices, and that evidence leaves a trail that can be found by the right experts.

The information that resides on the accused’s computer may be critical to either the prosecutors or the defendants in a case. Digital forensics can be used to analyze the contents of their computer, or electronic media. Complex methods are applied in order to find data that someone has often tried to corrupt, hide, or obscure.

For More Than Just Computer Crimes

Digital forensics could also be used in other criminal or civil circumstances as well. For instance, there may be digital evidence involved in a murder case that forensics experts can work to recover. The online purchase of what is now evidence, or social media conversations with friends could all shed a light on the crime.

There could also be digital evidence at the heart of a family dispute that turned into a civil case. Again, purchase receipts, online conversations, or other activities can all become critical to a court case.

Digital forensics could be used in business applications, outside a courtroom as well. For instance, it may be used in any internal corporate investigation, where it’s necessary for a company to understand the contents of employees’ computers.

The Digital Forensics Process

Digital forensics usually involves having a computer expert analyze the contents of the computer, or any type of device that stores digital data. It involves the acquisition or seizure of the electronic equipment, forensic imaging of data, and analysis of the digital media involved.

A report is typically given that may be entered into evidence of either a criminal or digital case.

What Can Digital Forensics Do?

As established above, digital forensics can be used in several ways. In addition to direct evidence, it can be used to:

• Confirm alibis or statements
• Determine intent
• Identify sources of information
• Authenticate documents in question
• Provide clarity in timelines

An Increasing Complexity

As more electronic and data storage devices flood the market on a regular basis, digital forensics has become an increasingly complex field. The process of extracting information or evidence from a mobile phone will be very different than extracting information from a desktop computer, for example.

If you find yourself in need of digital forensics services, it’s important to look for a company that can handle cases where the data may be obscured or difficult to find.

Hire a company that can recover:

• Deleted files
• Hidden or hard to find data
• Data that is lost due to software or hardware corruption
• Data that is corrupted through the physical damage of water, fire, or accident

 Hire We Recover Data for Digital Forensics Work

We Recover Data is experienced in all facets of digital forensics. We offer data collection, processing, review and production as part of our services. Our team will provide evidence in whatever format is desired.

Our process is fast, reliable, and cost-effective for businesses and law enforcement agencies. Are you looking to hire an experienced digital forensics company? Contact us today!

 

 

The Future of Data Storage

With artificial intelligence and machine learning applications becoming increasingly prevalent in today’s technological environment, the future of data storage is evolving to be able to maintain vast amounts of information.

Many companies are now taking advantage of both centralized and non-centralized options to backup and store their most essential data. New hardware options are emerging alongside software that is better able to manage and compress data.

The Future of Data Storage Will Require Dependable Options

Let’s take a look at a few of the ways that data is expanding, and how storage options are evolving with it.

• The amount of data in the world at the beginning of 2020 was estimated at 44 zettabytes, according to Seed Scientific.
• Over 2.5 quintillion bytes of data were generated every day in 2018, according to Social Media Today.
• Data creation is expected to grow to more than 180 zettabytes, by 2025, according to Tech Jury.

We’ve come a long way from cave paintings or even books as being the primary mode of information storage in our culture (even though there will always be a place for books). Floppy disks and CDs feel archaic when it comes to digital data storage options.

It’s clear that the future of data storage requires some dependable options. With the importance of big data, it’s clear we need options that can easily store vast amounts of data.

Flash Media

Flash media likely aren’t going anywhere. Manufacturers of these products will likely work to improve longevity of the medium and increase the number of times that they can be used to rewrite data.

Improved software options can help to ensure that data is written and erased uniformly, which will also help to improve the longevity of the media. This technology makes it easier for manufacturers to increase the amount of storage available, so it’s likely we’ll continue to see usage of solid state drives and other flash media expand into the future.

Hard Drives

Hard drives have been a long-time dependable storage media that offer businesses an easy on-site backup method. It’s an area that there has been a significant amount of research and development, and where it’s likely that there may be market growth.

We’ll likely see dependable hard drive storage options with more and more available capacity into the future.

Tape

Many companies still have a significant investment in tape as a data storage technology, and that may not change soon. It may be difficult to persuade some of these businesses to change data storage methods.

Whatever the Storage Method, Data Recovery Remains Crucial

The future of data storage will require dependable options as the sheer volume increases exponentially. Businesses that accumulate vast amounts of data can’t afford the down time associated with data loss.

New and more dependable data recovery methods are likely to be developed as applications such as artificial intelligence and machine learning require more data to operate. When you lose data, it’s important to go with a company that understands the medium and has done the necessary research and development associated with successful recovery.

Even the most dependable data storage options can at some point fail. If you are not ready for data loss, it can cripple your business, and damage your reputation. We Recover Data is an industry leader when it comes to professional data recovery. Our specialists pioneer data recovery methods with all new and existing technologies.

When you experience data loss, it’s critical to go with an experienced company that understands how to recover your data.

How Effective is Data Recovery?

When data is lost, it’s common to turn to new measures to get it back. Sometimes we need to ask ourselves, how effective is data recovery, when we’re trying to get that information back?

The more data that companies work with, the more common that data loss is. It is unfortunately a necessary evil of depending on critical information to run your business. No matter how it strikes, it can be crippling when you notice crucial information gone missing.

The good news is that data recovery is a field that is quickly advancing. With new techniques being formed all the time, the recovery process is significantly more effective than it used to be.

The Common Causes of Data Loss

 

Data loss can occur in many numbers of ways. Here are a common few:

• Software or hardware failure
• Accidental deletion
• Corruption
• Hacking, viruses, or malware
• Power outages
• Physical damage to hardware

Data can be lost on any device it’s stored, whether that be a computer hard drive, RAID drive, USB stick, the cloud, or any other common storage location. Because of this, data recovery specialists must be well versed in working on different mediums.

How Data Recovery Works 

Data recovery is simply the process that salvages and restores data that was previously lost. Sometimes a full recovery is possible, other times a recovery may be partial.

The effectiveness of the recovery may depend on several variables, including:

• The type and format of the file storage system.
• The condition of the drive or storage system in question.
• How much the system has been used since data was lost. (Use of the storage system should stop immediately once the data loss is observed.)
• How the loss occurred.

The fact of the matter is that performing any function with your computer following the loss of data will jeopardize the recovery process. The best thing that you can do when you notice data missing is to contact a professional data recovery company immediately for assistance in retrieving the information in question.

As stated above, how the loss occurred will have a significant impact on whether that information is recoverable. Let’s look at a few different scenarios and talk about how professional data recovery might come into play.

How Effective is Data Recovery? It Depends on How the File Was Lost

File Deletion

Deleted files typically remain on a drive until they’ve been overwritten. With fast action, they can typically be recovered. If you try to use recovery software, you do run the risk of overwriting them.

If the trash or recycling has already been emptied on your computer after deletion, it’s important to act fast. It’s also worth noting that the simple act of browsing the internet can potentially result in cookies overwriting lost information.

The format of your file system may also determine how easy recovery could be.

Corrupted Files

The ability to recover corrupted files often depends on the source of the corruption. If it is an operating system that is corrupt, the data might work fine once the hard drive is attached to a different computer.

If it is corrupted software, once the software is repaired, you might be able to get the files back. You may also be able to recover enough from the partition table to be able to retrieve some files, but it will depend on the level of corruption.

If the File System is Damaged or Reformatted

When this happens, information about the previous file structure may be destroyed. When a file system is reformatted, you are replacing everything with a blank memory slate. If there is information left over, a data recovery specialist may still be able to help.

Develop a Recovery Plan

So, how effective is data recovery? It can be pretty effective when there’s a plan in place.

It can help to know exactly what you are going to do in the event of data loss. There is no guarantee that you will see lost data again, but there are steps you can take to increase the chances of recovery. One important step is to increase the chance of recovery is to stop what you are doing when you notice that a file is missing.

Data recovery specialists may be able to help you recover the missing file easier when the drive is not in use after the loss. Contact us today for more information or to help you recover a file!

 

What is Data Carving?

Data carving, sometimes known as file carving, is a term often used within the fields of data recovery and cyber forensics.

When data is extracted from undifferentiated blocks of raw data, it is known as data carving. It’s a term that can also be used to describe the act of file identification and recovery based on an analysis of file formats. This technique is helpful to find hidden or deleted files within digital media.

Sometimes a file that appears lost to the owner of the data may be hiding in lost clusters, unallocated clusters, or slack space within the digital media. If the file has a standard file header, a search can be performed to locate the header, and continued to the footer (the end of the file). That data can be extracted to validate the file. There may be different methods used for data carving depending on the format of the file in question.

Recovering Lost Data is a Difficult Task

When data is lost from a hard drive or disk, it can become incredibly complex to recover. An industry has built up around providing free and paid software for this task on various machines. This software can be risky however, because the simple act of installing it to your computer may be all it takes to write over the file in question and lose it.

Once the data is corrupted because of the condition of the drive, it can become impossible to recover in many circumstances. This is why the best course of action is to hire a professional data recovery company, for the best chance of seeing that information again. Data carving is a complex technique frequently used by these companies to help retrieve your file.

Where Data Carving Factors In

Data carving is simply the reassembling of data in an unallocated space, typically either unused disk space or reused disk space. It operates based on file system contents rather than the metadata and file structure.

The system will treat both unused disk space and reused disk space as free space. Reused disk space is the empty space in a new partition, that was previously used by a different partition. This type of space may still contain some file data, even without the metadata. Because of this, data carving may be the only way to effectively recover lost data in these circumstances.

Two Scenarios for Data Carving

• To recover lost or damaged files due to missing or corrupted directory entries
• To recover deleted files

In both scenarios, success depends on the condition of the drive that’s in question. A file system won’t rid itself of a deleted file right away. The fragments of the drive where that file is stored might eventually be marked as free space within the system. Because of this, the data that is deleted remains on the drive until it is overwritten by another file.

There are many different types of tools that can be used by a data recovery company for data carving. If you have lost data on a drive, contact We Recover Data today and one of our technicians can help!

What is Data Cleansing?

Your business is only as good as the data you collect. When you are sitting on top of unusable data, the ensuing analysis or algorithms are likely skewed. If your company relies on the information that it collects to make informed decisions for the future, then data cleansing or data cleaning is an essential step in ensuring the quality of those future decisions.

Data Cleansing is the Removal of Junk Data

It really is that simple. This can apply to data that is:

• Incorrect
• Corrupted
• Incorrectly formatted,
• Duplicate
• Incomplete

Over the lifetime of the data set, it’s only natural for data that fits these descriptions to seep into the dataset. It can easily impact any outcomes or algorithms that rely on the information at hand. Data cleaning isn’t a one-size-fits-all type activity. It’s something that will vary by need, and by the dataset in question. But it’s important to understand what needs to be done when the situation arises.

The Data Cleansing Process

While the data cleansing process may look different from company to company, or even dataset to dataset, there are some basic steps that can be applied to the process.

Remove Duplicate or Irrelevant Data

When you combine data sets, or scrape data, or receive data from multiple inputs, the potential for duplicate data increases immensely. Removing this data goes a long way in decluttering the data set and improving the quality of your algorithms and outputs.

The other type of data to keep in mind in these initial stages is irrelevant data. This is when you have information that doesn’t strongly pertain to the problem that you are collecting this data to solve. Sometimes businesses become overambitious in the data they collect, or the scope of what they collected may just be a little too wide.

Fixing these issues will go a long way in making your data more targeted and manageable. It’s an excellent initial step in the data cleansing process.

Correcting Structural Errors

Data collection is exacting. Structural errors can occur with strange naming conventions, typos, or inconsistent capitalization. When this happens, you can end up with inconsistencies, such as duplicate categories or classes that mean the same thing.

Address Your Unwanted Outliers

Data outliers happen. Sometimes they may be mistakes and sometimes the very existence of the outlier can prove whatever it is that you are working on. Evaluating your outliers with human eyes can help you determine their validity and how to proceed. If it is irrelevant or a mistake, you may want to remove them.

Missing Data

Missing data can throw off your algorithms. There are ways to address this issue, however. You could delete the observations that contain missing values, but this option may result in lost information. Another option might be to input missing values based on other observations. But this could jeopardize the data quality because you’re now operating from assumption, rather than observation. A third option might be to alter the way that you use data to navigate null values.

Once the Data is Cleaned

After the data is cleaned, you should have a data set that makes sense, and follows the appropriate rules. You should hopefully be able to follow trends to help you make sense of the data that’s been collected. Hopefully, these steps should help you in correcting any data quality issue.

Keeping more consistent data allows you to increase your overall productivity and make better decisions. It allows for more efficient business practices and happier employees. Data that is consistently cleansed helps you keep a smooth and efficient business.

If your outdated data becomes corrupted, contact We Recover Data to help.

The Timely Data Recovery and Security Strategies for a WFH Setup

When we have important information, we tend to keep them safe and secure as much as possible. We don’t want these things to just leak somewhere or might get damaged due to uncertain events. More likely, we use many strategies on how we can store our valuable information away from harm. These strategies enable you to manage your data in a more conducive and effective way to make your business continue its operation even when you encounter data failure.

 

No matter how secure it might get, there are inevitable circumstances that will affect your information or data. One of the best strategies to ensure the safety of your information is to have data storage or backup files. It enables you to have multiple copies of your original file, safely kept on trusted storage devices.

 

However, no matter how intense you try to keep it safe, storage devices are also vulnerable to damages. Data loss is very challenging for everyone, especially for those who are working in the business sector. The business industry integrates the use of technology in their services and transactions.

 

Moreover, it is critical to store their data in their secured databases and ensure security. The moment that this database got damaged or hacked, it would be a disaster for them.

 

What is the impact of data loss on the business sector?

 

Data loss is a serious issue for all types of business organizations. Lost files mean lost time, money, and effort. Therefore, you need to restore the information that is valuable for the business, making you spend additional time, money, and effort on it. Data loss happens when there is an accidental deletion or virus attack on your computer system resulting in data corruption.

 

Computer and website viruses, physical damage, or formatting problems could be the reasons for data loss. Losing the files and information of the company might lead to a long term financial problem.

 

Some data can be recovered through the help of professional IT experts. And instead of saving your money for the company, you need to pay for their fees and the tools that they are going to use to recover your data. Unfortunately, some data can’t be recovered anymore. That is why data loss prevention is an effective way to minimize the chance of having data loss.

 

To avoid data loss, you should understand why such an event happens. Learning its causes will help you to prevent data loss for affecting your business. Data loss is a major trouble that interrupts the daily function and routine of any type of information-based organization.

 

When a business is suffering from a tremendous loss of data, they might spend time and resources to restore the important files. You probably have the hard copy of your documents, but it will remain that way and are not the updated ones. Digital copies can be updated, copied, edited, and sent quickly.

 

It will be costly for the business organization to retrieve all the lost data. Therefore, it might affect their transactions. It slows down the productivity of the company. Unfortunately, customers will also tend to lose interest in your business since you might get hard on reaching out to them. Data breaches are also very ineffective when it is related to the information of your customers.

 

When sensitive data got damaged or lost, you must take into consideration the possible causes of this occurrence. You must be open to your clients once a data breach happens in your company. Unfortunately, it will result in losing your credibility and efficiency regarding data storage. You should spend some time and effort in rebuilding your connections with your customers. Here are some of the possible reasons for data loss that you might check out.

 

How to effectively work on a Work-from-Home Arrangement?

 

Workplaces and environment play an essential role in the productivity of the employees. It is an indication wherein they can execute their skills effectively and efficiently. However, there are some instances that workstations need to change due to some unexpected events.

 

Some studies talk about the flexibility of the work-from-home arrangement. Through the use of advanced technologies, it is also one of the considerations of the employers. This protocol also helps the company to save time and money. On a positive note, it is an advantage for employers.

 

The technology industry contributes to the flexibility of work schedules and telecommuting opportunities. Most of the technology companies are integrating the web-based and technological setup. This is where the idea of work-from-home became possible. Through video chats, conference meetings, VPN networks, and Internet connection, you can work as if you are facing each other just like in the office.

 

Effective Ways on how to Secure Data on a Work-from-Home Arrangement

 

If you are a business owner and aim to implement a work-from-home set up for your employees, here are some of the ways you should do to make it possible. You should always see the bigger picture of it. You must consider the system accessibility, IT infrastructure, estimated costs, and data security.

 

• Empower the employees with data security knowledge.

You should orient your employees with the necessary data security measures. Some of them are identifying which are phishing emails, avoiding public Wi-Fi connections, ensuring home Wi-Fi routers can help them to prevent data leaks and damages. Cyberattacks and other online attempts to interfere with your data are increased by this time. That is why the security of your digital devices is a must.

 

Employees should be constantly reminded to avoid clicking emails or links coming from unknown people. They should also avoid installing applications and software that are not from the original stores or websites. You should also provide a technological response team to accommodate specific problems when working from home.

 

• Provide your employees with VPN access.

 

Another way to secure data is to give VPN access to your employees. It will link the main systems down to your external employees. These methods create an additional layer of data security that provides hiding the user’s IP address, encrypting data transfers in the transport, filtering the user’s location.

 

Most of the big companies have VPN services in a certain location and monitor if they have enough seats to accommodate their employees. This is to secure the protection of their data in the hands of the users who have authorized access. On the other hand, smaller business organizations might need to have VPN providers.

 

There are many available VPN providers out there, but not all of them are reliable. Regardless of their quality and affordability, it is your preferences and choices to save you from data damages and breaches. Once you have purchased a VPN service, make sure that you will access your employees and monitor that they will only use it for business purposes.

 

• Data security protection

 

You must ensure an up-to-date version of your data security for all of the digital devices where this software is installed and utilized. It includes virus checkers, firewalls, and data encryption, all in the same location.

 

• Execute a password audit.

 

Your business organization should run a password audit for the employees. It doesn’t necessarily mean to have the personal details of the employees. Moreover, the passcodes that are utilized to access their services are reset and modified to strengthen their security policy.

 

The use of alphanumeric codes and two-factor authentication became mandatory overtime. You should instruct your employees to implement the toughest data security measures to cover all of their devices. Your business-critical passwords should be stored somewhere secured in any case that the key personnel is not around. You can use an enterprise-centered password manager to store your important passwords.

 

• Make sure that your software is always updated.

Instruct your employees to upgrade their software to its latest version supported by the company’s security policy. You can activate the automatic updating setting on all of your devices to reduce the hassle of manually updating the software.

 

• Introduce the use of Cloud Services.

 

Another strategy to protect your data is to store your confidential data on other storage devices or sites. The content storage should be cloud-based when it is possible. Therefore, employees should use cloud-based applications to access this platform. It is also crucial that you use any external cloud storage services. Make sure that your security teams thoroughly verify these.

 

• Change the default Wi-Fi router passwords.

 

Every employee should not do resetting of the default Wi-Fi router passwords. If you have an IT security team, then you can give the duty to them. You don’t want to leak the information within your company. Data sniffing and other data attacks might interfere with so many people who know the newly reset passwords.

 

You can also create provisions of paying every access that will concern your critical data since not all of the broadband connection is the same. Some providers are offering positive notions about extending their available data packages. Employees should be oriented to avoid using public W-Fi connections, but using a VPN can also add more security to it if they are connected to.

 

• Conduct mandatory data backups.

 

It will be helpful for you if you practice online backup services whenever possible. If not, employees are suggested to store data backups on external data storage devices to ensure their safety. If you are using mobile device management or an enterprise mobility management service, you can initiate automated data backups through the console of your system management.

 

• Avoid using USB sticks.

 

If you can’t avoid using USB sticks, do not use them at all in the first place. There are common issues when it comes to using USB flash drives in your information system security. These are data leakage due to their small size and system failure due to computer viruses, spyware, and malware attacks.

 

• Have an MDM/EMM solution.

 

If data problems occur in a work-from-home arrangement, it might be helpful if you utilize an MDM/EMM solution. It is more accessible for you to handle various digital devices while also sorting out business data from personal data. It also guarantees that the device and Mac security can be managed better.

• Generate contingency plans.

 

Communicate with your team members. Make sure that the responsibilities are equally shared among the teams. This is to provide contingency plans in case that the key personnel is not available to operate the system. Technical support, security and password management, and important codes should all be designated and copied to ensure the safety of the valuable data.

 

• Provide community and care for your people.

 

Today, the main reason people are working from home is because of the health pandemic we are experiencing today. The horrible truth that people might get sick when they choose to go outside and commute to work initiates the implementation of a work-from-home arrangement.

 

Given that setup, you can connect and conduct meetings with your employees through FaceTime, Zoom applications, or any other video chatting programs. You should empower your team members to strengthen their mental health to combat depression and anxiety because of this health crisis. Moreover, ensure that you are there to support them with their tasks anytime.

 

As for the sake of your valuable data, make sure that you are providing high-quality security. This is to prevent data loss and breaches of your confidential information. Giving access to your database is a risk. You should monitor that only authorized persons are allowed to open your files to avoid data threats like hacking and security thefts.

 

Reshaping the Typical Data Recovery Strategy in the Work-From-Home Arrangement

 

Because of the sudden and unexpected occurrence of this global pandemic, almost all of the sectors are affected and need to establish changes in their usual routine. Some of these are the business sectors and database-centered organizations. Here are some of the tips that you can follow to modify your data recovery strategies.

 

Reassess your Backup and Recovery Plans

 

Take this technological era as an opportunity to modify your backup and recovery strategies. Since working from home is way different from working in the physical work environment, data is also somehow processed differently from the usual setting. Make sure that your recovery objectives are updated to the latest strategies.

 

If there is a malware attack on your system or your experienced software failure, the first priority is to recover your data to ensure the business’s continuity. And for this to happen, you must utilize the appropriate backup and recovery strategy. You can also choose the one with off-site replication to provide more options for data recovery methods.

 

Application of a Work-From-Home Backup and Recovery Solution

 

As stated, the fundamental factor for the business to pursue after a sudden data loss or damage is to conduct replication of data backups. This strategy creates layers of protection by copying the data backups to remote storage and/or cloud site. When your data is securely encrypted and available, you can assure that your data can be recovered no matter what happens.

 

All the data saved on your computer are not created equal. Therefore, if data loss occurs, data recovery would be critical if you are working from home. There are backup and recovery applications that can identify the data that you save on your computer that should be backed up. In this way, you can save storage space. This solution also automatically backups and sends the data to the cloud. The frequently used and edited data is well-protected using this solution.

 

Monitor every Endpoint to Guarantee Continuity of the Business

 

Since working from home entails working remotely, it is a flexible solution that allows you to transfer services online as it serves as a necessity. It also makes you accessible for different sites of your business to monitor how your employees are doing. You should know where the data is coming from and where it is heading. It will enable you to track the transaction done to your data. It is easy to recover data once you know its trails and determine what went wrong along the process.

 

Modifications and adjustments are widely seen today. Most of the business enterprises chose to re-evaluate their services and arrangements due to the global pandemic. Since health is a major risk here, physical works and direct contacts are prohibited. The use of advanced technologies and digital devices create an alternative system for the workers.

 

However, there are also constraints of the work-from-home arrangement. You must increase your data security since you are now allowing your employees to access some of the confidential information, unlike before. Make sure that you will encourage them always to practice proper data security measures.

 

Data recovery is the primary solution for data loss. This solution provides you the opportunity to restore your files and continue your business. The presence of data recovery doesn’t mean that it is fine even if data loss will occur since it can be recovered. Some of the files are partially recovered, or worst can’t be recovered at all. In the first place, secure the safety of your valuable data all the time.

 

 

Performing Data Risk Assessments

If your organization is required to follow any compliance mandates for data management, there is a good chance that data risk assessments may be recommended. But the language regarding what those assessments actually are can be vague.

 

It’s possible that your IT team may understand the necessity of such risk assessments, while not knowing how to approach these assessments in a manner that guarantees regulatory compliance.

 

What Does a Data Risk Assessment Accomplish?

 

Data risk assessments allow you to take a big picture look at your organization’s handling of data in order to determine the overall security of the data that you manage. It can help you to understand your strengths and weak points so that you can improve in your overall data management.

With a proper data risk assessment, you end up with an overall understanding of your risk levels and a plan to manage the most critical needs.

Below are some suggestions for conducting a data risk assessment. Sometimes organizational pride can get in the way. It’s important to handle the process with humility and treat it as an opportunity to learn about your organization and improve your weaknesses.

1). Get uncomfortable. Use a data risk assessment as an opportunity to understand your weak points at the highest level of exposure. That way a plan can be developed to better address these in the long run. It’s important to understand your company’s highest-level vulnerabilities before an attack.

2). Use basic questions to determine risk level. You can ask questions that will help you prioritize risk such as: Do we collect personally identifiable information? Do we collect highly sensitive information (think credit card numbers or health records)? What other sensitive data remains in our possession? Questions along these lines can help you establish the level of sensitivity with this information.

3). Figure out risk vs. exposure. You can use any gathered information to understand how to mitigate your risk and exposure levels with additional safeguards.

4). Modify your data storage based on risk. When you’re able to map out your company’s vulnerabilities some changes may need to be made to where that data is stored. Maybe cloud storage, remote servers, or other solutions can add additional peace of mind.

5). Add security to mitigate risks. Once you have some added information, you’ll have a better understanding of the threat level that your organization faces. It may be time to bring in more security or establish some firewalls. It may be time to enhance your company’s password procedures or add two factor authentication. Whatever the case may be, you can prioritize the actions based on various threats.

 

Data Risk Assessments Lead to Improved Safety

 

You can’t control what you don’t measure. Proper data risk assessments are simply about analyzing your levels of exposure. They’re also important to understand that if your data does fall victim to a cyberattack or is lost, that a data security company can help you restore what you lost and keep your company up and running.

 

 

What is Data Mapping?

Data mapping performs an essential function in organizations as they continue to amass increasingly large amounts of information. This increased data collection can be used for a myriad of reasons from more informed marketing decisions to better product development practices.

 

But keeping track of that data can be a cumbersome process without some organizational standards in place. That’s where data mapping comes into play. At some point collected data may need to be moved between systems, or stored using a different program. A data map is the tool that is used in these events to make sure that data arrives in its destination accurately.

 

What Data Mapping Means for Your Organization

 

Simply put, data mapping is the process of matching fields from one database application to the next. It’s a fundamental step in safe data migration and integration. Data mapping is a common business practice, but as the amount of data collected by businesses grows, it becomes increasingly important and complex.

 

Data Management Begins with Mapping

 

Without proper data mapping, data has the ability to be corrupted. It’s possible under some circumstances that data will end up in an unusable format or become corrupted. Data mapping allows you to make the most out of your information long after any migrations. It is what ensures that your data will wind up in a usable format in its new source, so that the old source can be properly retired.

 

What’s Involved in Data Mapping?

 

The first step to data mapping is establishing what data needs to be moved, and where it needs to go. This includes noting the tables, fields, the formats of the data, and the frequency it needs to be moved.

 

At this point it’s important to match current fields with new destinations to ensure that it lands in a legible and useful format. You can begin the process with a small sample size to ensure that the transfer works in the ways that you expected. From there the full transfer can be deployed, maintained and updated.

 

The Need for Software that Can Handle Complexity

 

We’re largely past the days where complex data migrations, integrations, or transfers can be operated with mapping processes drawn out on paper. More data and more complex data processes render software a necessary tool to assist.

 

It’s important to find talented data analysts and flexible software programs that can ensure that your company’s objectives are well represented. You need the infrastructure in place to be able to handle large-scale data management in an increasingly competitive business management.

 

A Data Management Safety Net

 

Data mapping can save your organization massive headaches in the data management process. But should you lose any sensitive information in the process, a data recovery specialist can help you recover and restore what was lost. If you need help with data recovery, contact us today!

Is Your Company’s Data Secure?

Is your company’s data secure? It’s an important question that businesses and organizations should spend some time with, especially as the way we do work evolves.

Your business may have hit its stride with remote work during the pandemic in 2020. Whether you’ve been pleasantly surprised by the necessary adjustments, or you were thrown off guard by sudden changes, you may want to check what type of security vulnerabilities you’ve been left with in the aftermath of the adjustments you were forced to make.

Some of your employees’ behaviors as they work from home may unintentionally leave your company’s most vital data in jeopardy. Below are some of the work-from-home technology scenarios that can lead to increased data vulnerabilities.

Remote Work Data Vulnerabilities

 

Reduced Security on Personal Devices

 

If your remote work program was made possible by allowing employees to use their personal devices, it can present added security headaches for your IT team. Personal devices and public Wi-Fi systems can expose organizational data to several additional risks and make it easier for a hacker to gain access.

Strict password regulations and educating your employees about proper safety measures while working from their own devices, can help them to understand the risks involved proceed with the right cautions in place.

 

An Old Threat Renewed with Phishing

 

Hackers baiting unsuspecting email users into traps is really nothing new. What is new is the level of sophistication and ill-intent in the wake of the pandemic. Some may masquerade as medical supply sellers. Others may try to pull on your heart strings, with fake charitable causes. When your employees click on the email links, they may be downloading malware that lets outsiders access all of your data.

Educating employees about the threat of these phishing scams is a solid first step in making sure your company’s data is secure. Make sure they understand that if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. They can always Google the company, organization, or even email address that the email originated from in an attempt to find out whether or not it is legit.

 

Software and Wi-Fi Vulnerabilities

 

If Microsoft 365 is somewhat new to your remote workforce, they may not be used to what the login screen looks like. Fake login screens allow hackers to steal login credentials and access any document created within Office 365. They can then impersonate users and login from their own system.

Insecure Wi-Fi also leaves vulnerabilities. This can allow users into the system who can insert malware or simply look for sensitive data that they can steal. These vulnerabilities may exist within other commonly used software programs as well.

 

Insider Threats

 

It’s hard to let yourself believe that someone your company hired may desire to cause harm within your organization. But there may be outside forces influencing their behavior. The devastating financial impact of the pandemic, inability to pay the mortgage, or out of control medical bills can cause people to behave in unrecognizable ways.

Employees may be able to download sensitive data to a personal computer device, giving them the ability to act outside of your monitoring.

 

Make Sure Your Company’s Data is Secure

 

It’s critical to do everything possible to answer the question: “Is your company’s data secure?” If you find that security has been breached, it’s important to take action fast. If you’ve lost sensitive data due to a security event, a professional data recovery company can help you to regain access to lost data. Contact us today!

 

How to Increase Productivity While Working Remote

The great news for companies that have transitioned into remote working environments due to the pandemic, is that remote work has proven to be a more productive avenue for employees. But like anything, there may be stumbling blocks when you look at how to increase productivity while working remote.

While remote work comes with some stumbling blocks that we’ll address, it will likely also increase overall productivity for a few reasons. First, it eliminates the need for a commute. Employees in an office setting are also more liable to become sidetracked by conversation with their coworkers. While this may be one of the social benefits to office work, it leads to unproductive time.

At the same time, remote workers may find themselves in need of an adjustment period to better address their time behind the desk. These suggestions are designed to increase productivity while working remote.

 

Increase Productivity While Working Remote

 

Eliminate Distractions

 

Workers are inundated by notifications from every work-from-home technology platform that their company uses. They need to consider which notifications they can turn off, so not to be distracted by messages of little significance. Management can also consider what notifications their employees need, and which they don’t.

Employees can also eliminate environmental distractions by working from a home-office, rather than a bed, couch, or kitchen table. When they can find a more professional setting within the home, they are likely to get more done. This helps keep them focused on their work, rather than cleaning, laundry, or making personal calls.

 

Keeping a To-Do List

 

No matter how hard you try, those distractions may seep in. Sometimes it helps to consider the most important tasks that need to be completed in a given day and create a to-do list. A well thought out to-do list can help bring employees back to the larger tasks on hand when email, social media, and personal distractions become overwhelming. Regular phone calls or meetings between management and employees can also help to keep everyone on track and on the same page as far as priorities go.

Simply documenting what must get done on a given workday can be a powerful way to increase productivity while working remote.

 

Take More Breaks

 

When employees are able to take more breaks and step away from their work, they can reset their mental focus. You can encourage employees to get up and walk around when they get stuck or lose focus. Employees may benefit from the Pomodoro technique, which consists of breaking down larger tasks into short productive intervals, separated by short breaks.

The catch with the Pomodoro technique is that when they are at their desk and focused on a task, they must stay focused. No email, social media, or any other distraction in that window.

 

Work From Home Can Be Stressful

 

If employees are feeling additional stress or anxiety in the work from home environment, it may help to encourage short walks on breaks, or meditation. When they take action within their personal life to reduce stress and feel calmer, they will without a doubt become better employees.

The idea that employees can be more productive from home may sound counterintuitive. But encouraging them to become more well-rounded in these ways can help them bring more to the table and increase their job satisfaction. But addressing the above steps can help employees increase productivity while working remote.

 

 

 

 

5 Common Technology Problems While Working Remote

 The pandemic sped up the work-from-home revolution, and with it came some wonderful benefits, and new technology problems while working remote. Companies are more agile than ever before, and workers experience the benefit of not having to commute.

It’s provided a chance to rethink how we interact in the work environment. On a whole, workers have become more productive in their home environment. While there have been tremendous benefits to stem from this development, it’s not without its problems, either.

 

Technology Problems While Working Remote

 

Workers Are Over-Informed

 

This is one of the most common technology problems while working remote and can sneak up before people even notice.

The communications platforms that bring us the ability to work from home are a double-edge sword. Project management platforms, instant messaging software, email, video, texting, and video calls all make it possible to quickly and easily communicate. But workers are quickly inundated with notifications to the point that it will hamper their productivity.

Each of these notifications are a distraction pulling employees away from what they were doing. It’s important to make sure employees know when they can turn notifications off. Management using these tools need to carefully consider what situations are worth notifying employees over, and which are not.

 

Incentives Issues and Distractions

 

When you are in the office and you finish early, you will still be paid. You likely need to find something to occupy your time for the rest of the shift so that you can maintain some level of productivity. But what happens when you are at home and you finish early? You won’t make more money by getting done faster. Sometimes productivity and efficiency are not properly incentivized under this situation.

When you work from home, you may be tempted to login to personal social media or email accounts. These distractions can eat away at the time you are supposed to be working. These incentive issues and distractions may need to be rethought in the home environment.

 

More Technology Isn’t Always The Answer

 

We’re tempted to replace full staff meetings with Zoom calls. Face-to-face communications may now be replaced with email. But the communication may leave something to be desired. The video or audio may go out on a Zoom call. Somebody in a large meeting may inevitably have video or audio issues. There may be interruptions from employees’ family members or cameos from pets.

All of this can slow down the communication process. It may be time to do away with this type of meeting in favor of allowing employees an extra block of time to remain productive. This can help increase productivity.

 

Data Security Issues

 

Remote work leaves your company’s network and data security more vulnerable. While work from home policies may ultimately increase productivity, there is often a cost in an inherent data security risk. That cost comes in the form of increased exposure to hacking, data theft, or exposure to cybercriminals. Many larger companies have already been in the news for data breaches.

IT departments in remote work companies must help to educate employees about common sense data measures, such as changing passwords, two-factor authentication, and network security. Taking some preemptive steps now can help thwart one of the most common technology problems while working remote. Should you experience data loss, you can always hire a data recovery company.

 

Fighting Isolation and Loneliness

 

There aren’t as many opportunities to connect with coworkers or customers via phone or video calls, and it’s just not the same. Many are experiencing isolation or loneliness when they cannot leave their home to be around their coworkers. This is a general problem in society brought on by the pandemic, but it certainly rears its head in the remote work environment.

It often goes undetected until it’s fully manifested, and may not be immediately noticeable in day-to-day activity. Steps can be taken by employees on a personal level to reintroduce some social interaction in other aspects of their lives. More phone calls, video calls, and or social media messaging can help people feel more connected.

 

Overcoming Technology Issues Related to Remote Work

 

There’s no question that remote work has led to more employee productivity. It’s likely a trend that will be here to stay, long after we’ve recovered from the pandemic. IT departments will need to address the data security issues by putting more protective measures in place. IT and management may also play a role in other technology problems while working remote.

 

 

5 Hard Drive Recovery Tips for Your Laptop

These hard drive recovery tips for your laptop can help your remote work force, should one of their computers go down.

With more employees working remote in the U.S., laptop usage is on the rise. There is no question about the convenience of portable devices, especially when it comes to companies allowing their employees to work from home.

But sometimes these devices fail, and when they do, sensitive data can be placed in jeopardy. Updates, physical damage, and a failure to save your work can all cause problems. The good news is that much of the time, it’s not the data in question that is gone, but rather the part that pointed the user to the data.

In these cases, recovery is almost always possible. The data remains on the computer, it just takes more work to regain access to it. Below are some hard drive recovery tips for your laptop, to help in these instances.

 

Hard Drive Recovery Tips for Your Laptop

 

Seek Professional Help Fast – If you’re dealing with sensitive data that would cripple your company should it be lost, the problem is likely best in the hands of a professional. Customer support or a professional data recovery company can help you restore and recover data so that your business can keep running without any hiccups.

Stop Using the Laptop in Question – If you think you are close to hard drive failure, but your computer remains in a usable state, the best thing you can do is to stop using it until the hard drive problem is resolved. Any additional use could be causing further damage and make it harder to recover the files in question.

Data Recovery Apps – There are free and paid apps that you can install from the internet to help you recover files. If you are technology savvy, and you may only be looking for a few files, this option could work for you. The risk with these apps is that installing anything on your computer, even if it is to help with this type of situation, could be making things worse by overwriting the very files that you’re looking to recover. The likelihood for unrecoverable files increases in this situation.

Hook it to a Working Computer – On a Mac laptop, you can connect it to a working computer to essentially treat it as a large USB drive. The computers can be connected with either a USB-C, Thunderbolt 2, or Firewire cable.

On the broken Mac, you’ll need to press the T button on startup. If it’s already turned on, you can go to the Apple on upper left > System Preferences > Startup Disk > Target Disk Mode. From this point, files can be grabbed, and then the disk can be wiped or repaired without concern for your data.

In some situations, starting the computer in recovery mode, or creating a bootable drive may be what’s needed to regain access to the computer so that you can access necessary files.

Remove the Hard Drive (If You Can) – PC laptops are likely to be more complicated than the Mac instructions above. They may require removing the hard drive – something that is made more complex and complicated in a laptop than a desktop. The hard drive can then be diagnosed by plugging it into a working computer. But this is something that may require experience to try it, because further damage can be caused to the computer.

 

Hire a Data Recovery Company

 

The severity of the hard drive problem may vary from situation to situation. If you’ve tried any of these hard drive recovery tips for your laptop with no success, the best thing you can do is to stop tinkering with the computer, and contact a data recovery company. Remember, when hard drive failures happen, there is still a high probability that the data can be recovered.

Will We See More Automated Data Security?

Automated data security using machine learning and AI technology can have a significant impact on protecting business’s digital assets.

There is no question that the threat level with hacks on personal and company computers and networks is rising. Cyber criminals are employing new tactics to gain access to restricted information on a regular basis. As they employ new technologies to gain access to restricted systems, it only makes sense that the same technologies could be used to help protect those systems. Automated data security is improving, and will continue to be a tremendous asset to businesses and organizations of all size, around the world.

Data security will continue on the trend of increased automation as various cyber threats increase. Between a growing number of strategies employed by cyber criminals, and companies transitioning to work-from-home structures, the need for new protections is growing. Increased use of machine learning and artificial intelligence can help in the fight.

Automated Data Security Tools Will Assist Data Scientists

While there’s no question that automated data security tools are more efficient than any human, they will be seen as an asset to the IT team that can make the security process more effective. It will be similar to a doctor using the same type of tools to make a diagnosis, while providing the same level of person-to-person care that patients have grown accustomed to.

Data scientists will still be needed to assess any data and make any recommendations or interpretations. Their role will continue to be a necessary one, even though the process itself may be streamlined through more efficient technologies.

Streamlined Information Means More Targeted Decisions

If you are receiving automated and targeted information on a regular basis, that information can be used to improve business decisions. For example, new insights on your customer base or target markets can help you understand how to better position your company to sell more. Those insights can come instantly, and they can be from company data, or industry-wide data that tracks certain consumer behaviors.

All of this instantaneous access to key data points can be interpreted by stakeholders in an effort to make more informed decisions.

Better Risk Assessment

AI and machine learning technology will give companies and organizations a better picture of what risks they face on an ongoing basis. Automated data security tools can allow businesses to see threats in real time, and give them more power to stop cyber attacks as they happen. As computers and other IoT technologies are equipped to handle massive amounts of data in real time, their vulnerabilities increase.

Machine learning and AI technologies are the best-equipped tools to provide enhanced protection in this type of environment.

Make Your Data More Actionable

New automated data security technologies will help businesses on several levels.

In the absence of AI and machine learning data technologies, you may be collecting useful data without the ability to interpret it in a timely manner, or to make informed decisions. The ability to use this data in a robust manner will make a significant difference for small businesses in a competitive marketplace. As AI and machine learning options become more readily available, the benefits that they have to offer will help to level the playing field.

Data security will become more automated in the near future. This is a trend that will help to protect businesses from an increased level of vulnerabilities that have to do with work-from-home trends as well as a growing number of types of attacks.

 

 

 

 

Not All Hacks or Security Breaches are Created Equal

In a day and age when security breaches are commonplace, and the threat of personal data that you’ve collected is in jeopardy of being made public, hacks are routinely reported on in the media. Not all of the hacks that we read about are created equal.

First, there are various types of hacks. While any successful effort to breach your data security is alarming, the after-effects are not always experienced in the same magnitude.

The Definition of Hacking

The term “hacking” has become commonplace, and is used across a variety of applications to mean different things. But as it’s related to data security, we’ll define it as gaining access to unauthorized information through a system network or computer. There are an increasing number of these hacks and security breaches being reported on an almost daily basis. Governments, retail outlets, schools, and other businesses and institutions remain at high risk as targets for these attacks.

Types of Security Breaches and their Severity

Phishing and Social Engineering Hacks – This is when the hacker attempts to trick you into sharing your personal information with them. Maybe they pose as a business, or someone offering a service, in an attempt to get you to share your personal financial information. It might be imitating someone you know, asking you to do something like wire money, or click on a link to download a piece of malware, for example.

Phishing and social engineering hacks can have a significant impact on the victim, especially if they give up key personal information such as a social security number, bank account, or if they physically wire large sums of money.

Malware Injecting Devices

Devices such as USB sticks can be used by hackers to inject malware onto a device. That malware can then be used to gain remote access, to your computer and any information on it, causing significant security breaches. That’s why it’s important to consider the source of any type of USB, keyboard, or computer mouse before you plug it into your computer.

Entrance Through Missing Security Patches – Websites, software, routers, and other hardware often require security updates. When those updates are not completed in a timely fashion, it can provide an opening for hackers to gain access to your computer or network. When users ignore the pop-ups for updates it can leave them vulnerable.

It’s important for employers to make sure that all devices, software, and applications are routinely patched and updated to ensure their safe usage. This means making sure that employees routinely make the updates needed to function. This simple step goes a long way in reducing the chances for security breaches.

Passwords – Many hackers gain access through cracking the right password. It may happen through a malware program that allows hackers to monitor your keystrokes. There are also software programs that can guess the right password by running several combinations of letters and numbers in a matter of seconds, giving the hacker access.

Distributed Denial of Service – These attacks focus on taking down a website, or other online assets. They typically involve overwhelming a site with more traffic or requests than the server can handle, and thereby shutting it down. There are security products and services that can help protect your online assets from this type of attack.

DDoS attacks can have a crippling effect on your business, preventing you from being able to conduct your business as usual. 

Make Sure Your Team is Aware of Digital Threats 

Hackers can gain access and cause significant damage to your company through any of the above means. While any of these attacks can result in financial loss or the loss of data, DDoS attacks can shut down your whole business, and be difficult to recover from. The level of damage and the impact of the security breaches depends on the type of hack, and the impact that it can have. It’s crucial to educate your employees about the importance of data security, and preventing these hacks.

This means teaching them to evaluate the source of an email before they enter personal information, and making sure they complete the updates that need to be completed. Employees can be required to set passwords that include upper case letters, numbers, and punctuation marks. Making them more security savvy can help protect them and your business in the long run.

The Growing Need for Data Simplification Software

Smaller companies are competing all the time to keep up with their larger counterparts, and a major part of that struggle manifests in the way that companies collect data. With data simplification software, or data management as a service (DMaaS), the smaller companies have a means to level the playing field and compete with larger competition.

There are several issues that contribute to smaller companies being presented with more challenges when it comes to data collection. Variations of these issues can manifest across small businesses in a range of industries. Having some form of DMaaS software can help businesses to overcome these issues.

Key Issues that Lead to Difficulty with Data Collection for Small Businesses

IT Budgets are Being Slashed – As companies struggle to stay within limited budgets, IT and data science departments must find a way to operate with less. Technology, government, education, and other industries are being forced into this predicament.

Data Collection Operations are Complex – Complex data often comes with complex infrastructure. Between software installations, updates, and maintenance, data collection can take an inordinate amount of time and resources. Using some form of data simplification software can allow companies to better re-allocate their resources to meet their needs.

Employee Stress and Turnover – Having a solution that simplifies and streamlines data collection can help reduce stress and turnover within the IT department. It can allow IT professionals to better focus on deriving value from that data and help to improve the company’s bottom line.

The Benefits of Data Simplification Software and DMaaS Software Solutions

The benefits of data simplification software can help businesses that are already on a budget. DMaaS software offers a form of cost predictability, so that companies don’t become overwhelmed collecting data that may or may not have appropriate usage applications.

It will allow these same companies to better be able to compete against larger companies that currently have more data collection resources, and win more business. These smaller companies will be able to do more with what they have.

Employing a DMaaS solution within the company will save IT teams a considerable amount of time, and allow them to focus on other needs like equipment maintenance, tickets, and data security. Ultimately, the use of DMaaS software could help IT teams to reduce turnover, and better serve their employers.

Data Security as Part of Your DMaaS Package

In addition to allowing companies to make better decisions with their data simplification software, DMaaS programs are also providing added levels of data security. They are including a variety of features that will help small businesses protect their data. Here’s a brief list of features that may be available:

• Backup and archiving
• Disaster recovery
• Analytics
• Data security

Many of the platforms on the market use machine learning technology to identify data anomalies or catch cyberattacks that are currently in progress. Many of the platforms available are providing seamless experiences on premises and in the cloud, which is an important feature for companies that are transitioning to work-from-home.

Will DMaaS Work for You?

There are several advantages to data simplification software for small businesses. It can make your IT operation more efficient, and allow your employees to focus on other objectives, such as improving the company’s bottom line. DMaaS allows small businesses to more easily compete with larger competition. The right platform will also provide an added layer of data security in the process.

As IT budgets shrink, and companies are forced to find enhanced levels of productivity with fewer resources, DMaaS software allows companies to do more with fewer resources.