Gone are the days when businesses could store all their important data in a well-locked filing cabinet or two, because it was all on paper and needed to be physically close at hand. In 2024 the vast majority of a business’ data—on customers, vendors, employees, facilities, policy revisions, financials, and more—is more often stored digitally, with filing cabinets now replaced by server racks and a tangle of new and unfamiliar compliance regulations.
In a world where hackers and cyber-attackers are constantly probing for vulnerable data systems, how is your business meeting these complex storage and security requirements? We have some tips that can help you maximize your digital data security efforts.
- Remember the 3-2-1 Rule. Much like paper documents being written in triplicate, your digital data should be duplicated whenever possible and appropriate. In other words, always make backup copies!
- A good rule of thumb is the 3-2-1 rule: data should be copied 3 times and stored on 2 separate media, with 1 of these copies stored offsite in case of a facility-wide issue. When it comes time to consider your offsite options, remember cloud storage and redundancy is your friend.
- Compliance is Key. There’s a laundry list of regulations to which any company investing in data archiving has to adhere. While many of these rules are universal—applying to any business storing sensitive data digitally, such as personally identifiable information (PII)—many others are industry-specific. For example, healthcare facilities must also follow HIPAA guidelines, since much of the data they handle is not just PII, but medically sensitive PHI. Additionally, organizations that process and store credit card information must comply with PCI guidelines for the Payment Card Industry.
- Consider appointing a compliance czar to take the lead on navigating these tricky waters. This person should ensure that whatever data archiving solution your company employs is capable of handling the compliance burden as well.
- EOL Not SOL. Like all technology, software eventually becomes obsolete and reaches the End-of-Life (EOL) stage. EOL means that the vendor will no longer provide support, maintenance, or updates, including security patches, for that version of the software. Vendors typically announce EOL well in advance and provide a timeline for customers to plan accordingly.
- There are two main reasons why businesses may need to archive data: either they’re switching to a new vendor, or the software they are using reaches its EOL. Both scenarios are inevitable, so it’s a question of WHEN, not IF, data archiving will be necessary. While switching vendors is a business decision, the EOL of your software is not. This makes it crucial to have a plan in place for managing EOL software, as nearly half of such software is likely to have security vulnerabilities within the first six months after support ends, creating opportunities for cyberattacks.
- Compartmentalization. Who has access to your sensitive data right now? Is it just one person? What if something happens to them? What if they lose a key, or lose a password, or get hired by a competitor? Again, recall the 3-2-1 rule—is it a good idea to keep all your proverbial eggs in one basket?
- It’s important to have a clear understanding of where everything is stored, and which employees have access to those facilities. Some PII may need to be accessed regularly in the normal course of operations, but it may be wise to establish ‘tiers’ of access based on need. Pursue solutions that allow you to configure a ‘read-only’ access level for archived data, which will prevent data from being moved or modified by some users. Beyond that level, more permissions can be granted to a compliance czar, or to other employees designated as caretakers of your data.
- An All-in-One Solution. There are a wide variety of cybersecurity and digital storage offerings that can ease this archiving journey for you. You want a partner whose reputation can act as an effective deterrent by itself, who tracks and maintains your user access permissions and data integrity, and who can act as a compliance czar to guide you through the thicket of regulations and policies governing data.
- An effective security solution will emphasize their high-quality SOC-compliant security facilities, ease of implementation, frequent upgrades, flawless data migration support, familiarity and experience with evolving federal and industry-specific regulations, and a focus on continued support via analytics and action items to keep you ahead of the curve.