Data security is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses in 2021. From cyberattacks to data breaches, outages and data losses, there is a lot to consider when securing critical business data.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, there were 2,266 cyber security incidents and 59, 806 cybercrime reports lodged by Australian businesses from July 2019 to June 2020. That equates to an average of 164 cybercrime reports per day or one report every 10 minutes.

For many businesses, the real value of data protection isn’t fully realised until a breach or outage occurs and many remain vulnerable to cyberattacks.

Take a look at the 4 key trends in data security that business owners should be aware of in 2021.

Security solutions moving into the cloud

Now that cloud and multi-cloud solutions have become the norm for businesses it makes sense that security solutions should follow. 2020 saw an acceleration in businesses moving to the cloud to enable their teams to work remotely.

Cloud security brings procedures and technology together to protect cloud-based systems, infrastructure and data. These solutions merge security, storage, analytics and management to support businesses in meeting regulatory compliance and protect their customers’ privacy.

Businesses will benefit from lower administration costs and IT overheads with security moving to the cloud and enable IT teams to dedicate more time to other areas of the business.

Increase in ransomware attacks

Ransomware attacks continue to grow in frequency and severity which is not great news for businesses. As everyone scrambled to deal with the pandemic and move data and systems online, cybercriminals saw more opportunities to exploit hastily set up systems.

In these targeted attacks, business data is held hostage by the attackers who will demand payment or compensation in order to return access to the data.

Opportunistic cybercriminals continue to innovate and improve their encryption processes, making them even more difficult to crack. They will continue to target the most vulnerable organisations who cannot afford to lose their data and increase pressure to submit to the extortion.

While a comprehensive data security system is important in helping to prevent an attack, a simple backup of your valuable company data is one of the best defences against a ransomware attack.

The 2020 shift to working from home posed more challenges for businesses in keeping data safe. Home networks, personal and shared computers, and access to a wide range of systems from outside the office increased the threat of cyberattack and data breach exponentially.

With up to a third of the workforce predicted to be working from home at least some of the time in 2021, it’s clear that remote work is here to stay. This means more endpoints to protect and greater requirement for robust authentication, malware protection and endpoint software installations that protect data and teams.

Enhanced security through AI and the edge

Edge computing technology will allow AI to be virtually everywhere this year and significantly enhancing security capabilities. This technology uses machine learning to process data generated by a device at a local level rather than via the internet or the cloud. This dramatically reduces data processing time and leads to more real-time decisions and actions.

While this technology is already being rolled out across everything from Google to internet-of-things devices, it’s particularly valuable when it comes to security and monitoring. Even security cameras will become more intelligent and improve the security and efficiency of data systems.

There’s no doubt that 2021 will bring more challenges for businesses when it comes to data security. From the need to enhance data security for remote workers to more robust ransomware attacks, it’s critical that businesses have the right systems and processes in place to protect themselves.

Fortunately, there are a number of developments and innovations which will help keep systems and data safe, including the move of security to the cloud and the increase of AI being used on the edge. While there is always going to be risks to your data, the good news is there are a number of strategies and systems businesses can use to effectively protect themselves.

DSProtect is a fully integrated hardware and software solution that delivers world-class data protection, business continuity and disaster recovery.

We tailor the platform to your exact requirements and map the solution to your SLA, so you can meet your compliance, governance and reporting obligations.

Find out more about protecting your valuable data at https://www.digitalsense.com.au/data-protection/