The entire world is going through a technological revolution. Businesses throughout industries are adopting digital technologies to improve production, increase efficiency, and prepare for the future. However, moving entire operations from a traditional to a digital environment comes with various vulnerabilities and risks.
With so many cloud-based services and advanced digital technologies, cybercriminals are developing new ways of breaching systems and stealing information. This became especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic when cybercrime became even more popular. Many companies were forced to take their operations online and allow employees to work from home which opened up a can of worms in terms of security. Employees, managers and stakeholders alike shared sensitive data over email and video chat, many doing so while connected to an unsecure network. During the pandemic, we learned that many conventional security techniques don’t work anymore, furthering the need for organizations to find a way to create unique security systems to protect their data.
So, what’s the best way to protect data during this digital age? Security by design. We’ll explain everything you need to know about how it works and why it’s the best solution for your business.
Security By Design Explained
Cybersecurity is one of the primary concerns for every business. However, traditional antivirus, antimalware, and other software solutions are not enough to ensure security in this digital age. Once an organization moves its entire operation online, it needs a strong data protection system in place. Since every system is different, most businesses have a custom cybersecurity solution designed specifically to fit the existing infrastructure and IT processes.
That leads us to security by design, which turns out to be the most efficient method of preventing cybercrime on an enterprise level. This type of cybersecurity focuses on preventing attacks rather than repairing the damage.
The best approach is to develop a full cybersecurity lifecycle that starts with an idea and ends as a complete product. Security by design has been around for a long time, but cloud computing makes it available to a wider customer base. For example, Amazon’s Web Services or AWS promote the same approach to all cloud customers.
In short, this approach enables several technologies that significantly enhance data protection. Some technologies utilize automation, while others integrate management tools into the software to simplify monitoring, mitigate risks, and enhance compliance reporting.
Security by design constitutes an integral aspect of software and hardware development because integrating security systems at later stages poses significant complications. Additionally, real-time patching of cybersecurity systems presents a considerable challenge. Even when executed correctly, an added security system will never match the effectiveness of one integrated into the project from its inception.
Lastly, cybersecurity plays a crucial role in systems utilizing Internet of Things (IoT) technology. IoT aims to connect all devices and machines to a centralized system, necessitating robust cybersecurity measures to ensure seamless data integration.
Benefits of Security By Design
Security by design offers some major advantages. As mentioned above, this approach is much more powerful than any security solution added after adopting new technologies.
Here are the main benefits of security by design:
- It ensures safety for all devices and data connected to the system. It provides the same security features to all elements, including new products in development.
- It makes it much easier to identify existing weak spots and security risks before the damage is done. It can help remove all existing problems that might cause a lot of issues down the road.
- It allows organizations to take on new projects and drive innovation without the risk of future data breaches and other cybersecurity issues.
- It’s flexible. It allows organizations to make modifications whenever an update goes live instead of updating the system with every single change.
The Principles of Security by Design
Let’s look at the main principles of security by design. You must follow these principles to ensure that your applications and data are kept safe from cybercriminals and cyberattacks.
1. Minimize the Chances For Cyberattacks
Cybersecurity risks increase every time a programmer adds a new feature to an existing system. The key here is to create a strong security solution that can minimize the attack surface area. This is usually done by restricting functions and giving access only to team members. The programmer has to find a way to develop a new feature available only to registered users. That makes it much harder for a third party to breach the system and perform a successful cyberattack.
2. Input Validation
Doing something simple as defining available characters and numbers in every specific field can help reduce cybersecurity risks. The system will simply ignore all symbols that are not allowed in that specific field and will reduce the chances of system breaches tenfold.
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3. Enhance Website Security with Limited User Privileges
To enhance website security, limit user access to essential features only, ensuring users can only perform necessary actions. Avoid granting administrative rights beyond the tasks required for routine website updates.
4. Separate Your Systems
If your organization includes multiple systems, keep them separated to prevent hackers from moving from system to system. For example, keep your web server separate from your databases. That way, if a server is compromised, the hacker won’t be able to extract any sensitive data.
5. Update The System and Keep Testing It Regularly
Whenever you update your system to the latest version, all previous security issues are fixed. However, updates might lead to other security issues you’re not aware of yet, so perform detailed security checks regularly to find security gaps and prevent future breaches.
6. Keep All Confidential Data Encrypted
Cloud computing has changed the way data is handled and stored. Instead of keeping all information on a legacy data center, most operations are moving their data to the cloud. However, that means that organizations lose control over where the data is stored and how it is processed. The safest approach is to encrypt all sensitive information before it makes it to the cloud. That way, if a hacker finds his way into the system, they won’t be able to access the data.
7. Don’t Trust Third-Party Services
Working with web applications that depend on third-party services is always risky. While some of them have excellent cybersecurity features, the vast majority fail to keep your data safe. With that said, if a third-party service doesn’t check the validity of data, your operation is at risk. If you have to work with third-party services, ensure that they make data checks, and even if they do, don’t provide any high-level permissions within the application. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
8. Defense in Depth
9. Keep It Simple
There are many different methods you can use to improve security. However, if you don’t implement them correctly, you might be left with a complex architecture that makes it much harder to control security. Complex systems are a problem because they make it impossible to correct errors, test new features, and ensure that all data is protected.
Moreover, if your system is too complex, it will take your developers a lot of time to track down a hacker and prevent information loss. That’s why it’s important to keep things as simple as possible. Cybercriminals are masters of exploiting weaknesses, and a complex system gives them plenty of opportunities.
Conclusion
Businesses globally invest billions in cutting-edge cybersecurity solutions to adapt to the digital transformation. Manufacturers and developers integrate the latest security features directly into products.
The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the criticality of securing data, with remote and hybrid work setups becoming permanent. Sharing data across numerous insecure networks and devices poses significant threats.
To survive in this digital age, organizations must prioritize innovation. Security by design mitigates the consequences of breaches and data theft.
Author Bio
Travis Dillard is a business consultant and an organizational psychologist based in Arlington, Texas. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general.
