Keeping Your Data Secure

Are you aware that your data is the most valuable asset on your network or computer? Nowadays, data moves relatively freely among the cloud, mobile devices, and corporate networks. Because of the rapidly evolving threat landscape, there is a demand for an approach to securing sensitive assets like data that is more comprehensive. When infrastructure expands so that it can meet the needs of new technologies and services, companies need to think beyond their IT department. Specifically, they need to consider addressing and managing to great enterprise risk that is the security of their data.

To that end, let’s talk about some of the ways that you can secure your data.

Security really doesn’t need to be something that is difficult.Secure USBmakes a device that will make it simple to keep your data protected because of its keypad where you will enter your personalized encrypted PIN and its plug and play functionality. Also, it works with thin clients, embedded systems, Android, Chrome, Linux, Mac, and Windows. As long as the device will accept a USB device, it will work. This is really good because since theGalaxy Note 7has tanked, you will need something that will be compatible with alternative devices.

Use EFS

For those unfamiliar with EFS, it is the acronym for Encrypting File System and it is used with Windows 2000, and XP Pro as well as with Server 2003. This is an encryption method that is built in and based on certificates and it can protect your individual folders and files that are stored on NTFS partitions. Encrypting these is as simple as checking a box. All you have to do is to click the Advanced button that is located on the General tab or the folders property sheet. Keep in mind though that you can’t simultaneously use both NTFS compression and EFS encryption.

Encrypt the Disk

There are quite a few third – party products out there that you can get to encrypt your entire disk – Secure USB can be used to give you a backup of it too. When you encrypt the entire disk, it will lock the contents down while being transparent to the person using it. The data will automatically get encrypted as soon as it gets written to the hard disk and then it will be decrypted before it is loaded into the memory. Some of the programs will actually create invisible “containers” in a partition that act as if they are a disk hidden within another disk.

Public Key Infrastructure

If you aren’t familiar with PKI, it is a type of system that manages public and/or private key pairs as well as digital certificates. Because these certificates and keys have been issued by a third-party that is trusted, this type of security is stronger. If you want to protect data while sharing it with another person, you can encrypt it using the public key of the intended recipient. The only person who can then decrypt it will be the person who holds the private key that matches the public key.

Hide It

There are steganography programs that can be used to hide your data within other data. As an example, you could use a steganography program to hide a text message in an MP3 file, a .jpg file, or even in a different text file. These types of programs don’t encrypt the data though so they are often used simultaneously with an encryption program. The data will be encrypted first before being hidden in another file using the steganography software. Some of the steganographic techniques require an exchange of a secret key while others will use public/private key cryptography.

All of these are great ways to keep your data secure and this is by no means meant to be an all-inclusive list. There are other security measures and methods out there. Which ones are you familiar with that didn’t make this list? Have you tried any of the ones on this list and what did you think about them?