How to Implement Data Protection in Your Company?

Incorporating technology into a company's daily operations is a significant step forward in its position within an increasingly competitive market. However, with this decision come responsibilities related to increased digital use, such as protecting customer and business data.

This is especially important in a Brazilian scenario where cyberattacks evolve alongside greater use of technology and the internet in the corporate world.

According to the 1st National BugHunt Information Security Survey, one in four companies in the country experienced some form of cyberattack last year. Additionally, the number of attacks increased by 92% between 2020 and 2021.

These are certainly alarming figures. But how, in this context of technological advancements and cybercrimes, can you protect your company from data theft? Below are some tips that could be useful for your business!

Why is it important to invest in data protection? Just from the numbers presented above, it’s clear that investing in data protection methods is crucial for a company’s smooth operation.

However, it's common for some entrepreneurs to underestimate the imminent dangers of the cyber world. They might prefer to focus their investments in other areas of the business.

But beyond the worrying numbers related to the volume of cybercrimes happening in Brazil, it’s worth noting that there are already laws in place in the country related to data protection.

The General Data Protection Law (LGPD), approved in 2018 by the Federal Government, ensures that clients' personal information must follow rules and be protected by the contracted company.

This legislation regulates all handling of personal data and even amends some articles of the Internet Civil Framework, making the regulations more stringent.

Brazilian companies that use the internet and handle customer information may face severe fines if they do not comply with the new LGPD guidelines.

On our blog, you can find content focused solely on the General Data Protection Law, with tips on how your company can adapt to the new rules. Check it out here!

Data protection actions your company can invest in Knowing the importance and reasons why your company should invest in data protection, the question becomes how to implement this security.

Thanks to the demand that has arisen alongside technological advancements and the increase in attacks, various methods have been developed to protect your company from feared breaches and data leaks. Some of these include:

1. Team Awareness First and foremost, it is essential for your team to understand the importance of these precautions. From this commitment, you can create various protection policies.These include rules related to the use of company equipment—such as computers, cell phones, and other mobile devices—and caution when downloading and accessing suspicious links.Leadership awareness is also crucial to ensure that investments in cybersecurity and data protection are genuinely made.Therefore, if you do not hold a higher hierarchical position, try to discuss these points with supervisors, using some of the arguments mentioned here.
2. Zero Trust Many cybersecurity experts believe that the human factor (failures caused by people rather than machines) is a major reason for data theft.Thus, many companies adopt the Zero Trust concept: an architecture designed to further complicate access to sensitive data of the organization and its clients.Zero Trust is based on the idea that all individuals are initially considered suspicious or untrustworthy. Therefore, various "barriers" are implemented, such as more complex access passwords and verification programs, to hinder malicious users.This is another preventive strategy that provides security even before a cybercriminal attempts to breach business systems, ensuring greater financial savings and peace of mind for operations.
3. Specialized Information Security Team Another need, especially among medium and large companies, is to invest in a specialized information security team that works full-time for the business.This team can be outsourced or exclusive to the partner company. What’s important is having specialists available during working hours to monitor the company’s systems thoroughly.Additionally, these specialists should know what to do in the event of a cyberattack, which authorities to report to, and how to address the issues.They will also receive reports from strategies such as bug bounty programs, which will be explained next. Therefore, in addition to this team, investments in prevention methods should also be made.
4. Bug Bounty: Reward Program for Bugs A trend in the digital market is investing in a Bug Bounty program, or reward program for bugs.In this strategy, information security experts are authorized to access the partner company's systems and networks to find potential flaws and vulnerabilities that could facilitate cybercriminal activities.When an issue is found, a report is created and delivered to the company's information security team. From there, methods are developed to fix these bugs.After all this action, the expert receives a reward for the work done.

BugHunt: The first Bug Bounty platform in Brazil! BugHunt is the first Bug Bounty platform in Brazil, having reported over 2,500 vulnerabilities to partner companies and helping to strengthen their system security.

However, aware of the challenges in convincing investment in this type of method, we also prepared a Manual on how to advocate for a Bug Bounty project within your company. Read it here and be prepared! If you’re interested in investing in this strategy, contact the BugHunt team and learn about some of their success stories!