Have you ever heard of data leaks? Typically, the story begins with a corporate computer system that all employees can navigate freely. Suddenly, an unfortunate manipulation exposes thousands, if not millions, of sensitive information. To avoid this doomsday scenario, consider restricting user rights. The more your data is compartmentalized, the more likely it is to be safe.
What is data access restriction?
Restricting access to data is a preventive measure that falls within the domain of cybersecurity. It consists in limiting the number of employees who can consult a file or a computer file.
To assign access to a file, you must consider its usefulness in terms of the employee’s work. If a folder isn’t necessary to accomplish his tasks, it probably doesn’t make sense to share it with him. You can therefore improve the protection of your sensitive information by choosing the number of users who can consult it. This effectively reduces human error and potential leaks.
Besides, do you really know the risks associated with access authorizations?
Restricting user access for cybersecurity purposes
In business, one of the most important issues is related to cybersecurity. IBM’s Global Data Breach Study Report concludes that 27% of security breaches are the result of human error. Scary, when you know that cybercriminals use the data to impersonate an identity, carry out transactions and even sell this stolen information…
Poor management of user access can lead to:
– The intrusion of cybercriminals into your system: your company’s computers are certainly connected to the same network. A computer breach in one of them is therefore a gateway to your entire fleet.
– The compromise of your brand image: when they entrust their data to you, your customers pledge their trust in your company. A leak, whether by an internal error or by a cybercriminal, can seriously damage this relationship.
It is therefore essential to think strategically about the access rights and restrictions of each folder.
The benefits of restricting access to users
Restricting access is an action that brings several benefits to employees as well. A marketing employee probably doesn’t need to use engineering department records. Restricting access to only the documents he needs, optimizes his research time. And by extension, an employee whose path is made easier, is also more productive.
When it comes to logistics, it’s easier for your servers to meet all the demands if they don’t all converge at one point. Distributing permissions is therefore a good way to ensure the flow of traffic on your network. In addition, it can decrease system crashes related to too many concurrent requests.
Are you convinced of the benefits of this practice? So, let’s move on; here is how to set up access restriction measures.
Access restriction best practices for businesses
To optimize the performance of your employees as well as your IT security, here are some best practices to adopt:
– Define who can consult which file;
– Define who can make changes to these folders;
– Keep your IT fleet up to date;
– Make sure that firewalls and antivirus are active and up to date;
– Use encryption software to protect your data.
For some small businesses, performing these operations can be tedious. It is therefore possible to outsource these processes.
Entrust the management of your IT security to professionals
Like two-factor authentication, restricting user access is a simple and effective practice to save time and money. Not caring about it can instead be very costly in terms of repairs, but also reputation. To make your job easier, outsourcing companies offer services in this regard. Do not hesitate to contact us to find out more.