Protecting Data at Different Life Cycle Stages

Unauthorised data access poses a significant threat to its integrity, potentially leading to devastating consequences. Data breaches, data loss, and non-compliance with cybersecurity regulations are just a few of the risks that businesses face when their sensitive information falls into the wrong hands. To mitigate these risks, it’s crucial to implement robust data protection measures throughout the lifecycle of data, as part of the broader data life cycle management process.

Data life cycle management involves understanding and securing data as it moves through various stages. These stages typically include creation, storage, processing, transfer, and ultimately, disposal. Each stage of the life cycle presents unique security challenges that must be addressed to ensure comprehensive protection.

In this blog, we will delve into strategies for establishing a solid foundation for access control and discuss how technologies like Privileged Access Management (PAM), Endpoint Privilege Management (EPM), and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) play crucial roles at every step of the data life cycle journey.

Protecting Data at Different Data Life Cycle Stages

Data Creation

The data life cycle begins with creation, and it’s essential to ensure that only authorised users can generate new info. MFA plays a pivotal role in this stage by adding an extra layer of security to the authentication process.

MFA requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorised access. According to Microsoft, MFA can block 99.9% of automated attacks on accounts.

By implementing MFA at the data creation stage, organisations can ensure that only verified users with the proper credentials can create and input sensitive information into their systems.

For example, a financial institution might require employees to use their company ID, a password, and a fingerprint scan before accessing systems to create new customer accounts. This multi-layered approach dramatically reduces the risk of unauthorised data creation, setting a strong foundation for data security from the outset.

Data Storage

Once data is created, it needs to be stored securely. This is where PAM comes into play. PAM is a cybersecurity strategy that protects an organisation’s most sensitive data and critical systems by managing and monitoring privileged accounts and their access.

PAM employs several controls to ensure that stored data access remains safe:

1. Principle of Least Privilege (POLP): PAM systems enforce the principle of least privilege, ensuring that users only have access to the data they need to perform their job functions.

2. Password Vaulting: According to Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations Report, 74% of breaches involved the human element, including the use of stolen credentials. PAM solutions securely store and manage privileged account credentials, reducing the risk of password-related breaches.

3. Session Monitoring and Recording: PAM tools monitor and record privileged sessions, providing an audit trail of all actions taken pertaining to sensitive data. This capability deters malicious behaviour and aids in forensic analysis in case of a breach.

4. Just-In-Time (JIT) Access: Modern PAM solutions offer JIT privileged access, granting elevated permissions only when needed and for a limited time. This approach minimises the attack surface and reduces the risk of credential abuse.

By implementing these PAM controls, organisations can significantly enhance the security of their stored data. For instance, a healthcare provider might use PAM to ensure that only authorised medical staff can access patient records, with all access attempts logged and monitored for suspicious activity.

Data Processing

As data moves into the processing stage, it becomes vulnerable to unauthorised access through various endpoints. This is where Endpoint Privilege Management comes into the picture.

EPM solutions provide several key benefits during the data processing stage of the data life cycle:

1. Application Control: EPM tools allow organisations to whitelist approved applications and prevent the execution of unauthorised or potentially malicious software.

2. Privilege Elevation: EPM enables the principle of least privilege on endpoints, allowing users to perform privileged tasks without having admin rights. This reduces the risk of malware spreading through the network if an endpoint is compromised.

3. Behavioural Analytics: Advanced EPM solutions use AI and machine learning to detect anomalous behaviour on endpoints, potentially identifying and stopping threats before they can cause damage.

In conjunction with EPM, PAM continues to play a vital role in monitoring and managing privileged access during this stage of the data life cycle. PAM solutions can:

Provide real-time monitoring of privileged user activities

Enforce segregation of duties to prevent conflicts of interest

Generate detailed reports for compliance and auditing purposes

For example, a manufacturing company might use EPM to ensure that only approved CAD software can access sensitive design files on engineer workstations. Simultaneously, PAM could be used to monitor and control access to the servers processing this data, ensuring that only authorised personnel can make changes to production specifications.

Data Transfer

When data is in transit, it becomes vulnerable to interception and theft. Protecting data during the transfer stage of the data life cycle is all the more crucial. Two key strategies come into play here: data encryption and identity verification through MFA.

Data Encryption: Encrypting data in transit ensures that even if it’s intercepted, it remains unreadable to unauthorised parties. Encryption should be applied to all data transfers, whether they occur within the organisation’s network or over the internet. This includes:

Email communications containing sensitive information

File transfers between servers or to cloud storage

Remote access connections to corporate networks

MFA for Identity Verification: Before initiating any data transfer though, it’s important to verify the identities of both the sender and the recipient. MFA plays a vital role in this process by requiring additional verification factors before allowing data transfers

For instance, a legal firm might require attorneys to use MFA before accessing and transferring files to ensure that only authorised personnel can handle sensitive client information. The firm might also employ encryption for all file transfers to protect client confidentiality.

Conclusion

As data continues to grow in volume and value, protecting it throughout data life cycle has never been more critical.

Here’s a list of questions for enterprises to ask and to evaluate their current data protection strategies:

Are we adequately protecting data at every stage of the data life cycle?

Have we implemented MFA across our systems and processes?

Does our PAM solution provide complete control and monitoring of privileged access?

Are our endpoints secured against unauthorised access and application usage?

Do we encrypt sensitive data during transfer and storage?

By implementing robust strategies such as Multifactor Authentication for secure data creation, PAM for protected storage and processing, and EPM for securing endpoints, businesses can significantly reduce their risk of data breaches and unauthorised access.

Sectona’s comprehensive access and endpoint security solutions ensure that your data is protected throughout its life cycle.

Now is the time to take proactive steps to secure your organisation’s critical data. Here’s our demo space for you to understand more about privileged access and endpoint security for better data protection.