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EDITOR’S QUESTION
MAYLEEN BYWATER,
SENIOR PRODUCT
MANAGER AT VOX
O
ur cyber footprint is increasing daily as technology improves
and evolves. This statement seems to strike fear in to our
minds. So, how do we protect our identity and the data that
is created? Digital identity theft is on the increase and for this reason
we stress the importance of and implore with our clients, both as
individuals and as a business, to take the correct measures in order to
ensure that sensitive information is secured.
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What is our digital identity? Digital identity encompasses
characteristics, or data attributes, such as username and password;
online search activities, for example electronic transactions; date of
birth; ID number; medical history and shopping history or behaviour.
A person’s digital identity is linked to one or more digital identifiers,
such as an email address, URL or domain name.
It’s the business’s responsibility to make sure that it adopts the
correct measures and keeps the following top of mind:
• Ensure that your network has the correct perimeter security
• Consider whether the emails you are receiving and sending are
properly protected, this will safeguard that your organisation is not
sending out harmful viruses that may be hiding on your network
• Are you aware of the endpoints utilising your network and who
has access to your data?
• Do you have policies in place to ensure that you are protecting
the details of your clients?
• Make sure that you share policies and best practices with
your staff, insist that security forms part of their training and
continuously enforce policies
• Run regular checks on your systems to identify vulnerabilities
• Back your data up to ensure ease of restoration and
business continuity
All these points lead to a solid security posture but will require constant
evaluation and checkpoints. Remember that policies are only effective
when they are communicated, enforced and kept updated.
There are so many different aspects to digital data and information
storage to consider. We recommend using a managed service
partner to assist businesses to manage their environments. This will
www.intelligentcio.com
take the security headache away and allow them to spend more time
on innovation and focus on growing their business.
The threat landscape is continuously evolving; therefore, it is
important for a business to have a firm understanding of its data
and its people. Simulate, educate and create a culture of awareness
in terms of cyberthreats. After all, the reputation of a business is its
most valuable asset. n
INTELLIGENTCIO
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