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Understanding the fundamentals of data

September 18th, 2017

It is important that a business understands what data is so they can identify what data they hold and the importance to protect it. Data is the facts and statistics gathered that can be then analysed/used to create information.

 

Data formats

 

Data can vary in its type as it can be paper based or digital, as a business it is important that both are kept safe. Many businesses now look towards keeping data digitally as it is easier to manage access and protect. Digital data also come with a higher risk as it could be accessed by an outside party and used maliciously. Many businesses are exposed to the risk of hacking for data theft and ransomware attacks.

 

Types of data

 

There are several types of data that a business may hold. Personally, identifiable data (including; names, addresses, dates of birth), private data (including; driving licence numbers, passport numbers), and confidential data (including; bank details, credit/debit card numbers, and medical information).

 

How to protect it?

 

Data that is stored digitally should have restricted accesses so as users can only access the data that they need and restrict permissions on the most important data. This will improve the security of your data however you should also have anti-virus software installed so as any malicious malware is blocked from accessing your data.  You should also have a cloud back up for your data that will mean that you have more than one copy of your data so should you have it stolen or break then you have access to it and can continue working.  Have a locked network that requires a password to access, it is common that data is stored on a network that allows people to have access to it from various locations however it is important that your network is secured to prevent it becoming easy for hackers to steal your data.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to…

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