When adding to the number of internet-enabled devices in your enterprise, your IT managers should not only look at key applications and data from older systems, but rank them based on importance. To protect your data, a key step is determining which information is most in need of protection in the first place.
A piece in TechRadar recently advised companies to assess the different kinds of data accessed across all devices, so the most vulnerable pieces of information are secured. This is a comprehensive process that can seem daunting when businesses have so much data to sift through but the reward will be greater organization and effectiveness.
If they don't know what constitutes "sensitive data," small and medium sized businesses can be especially vulnerable to fraud. A recent TechTarget SearchSecurity piece features comments from Phil Smith, the senior vice president of government solutions at security firm Trustwave.
He said that different departments should play a role in risk management. That company recently released a State of Risk Report for 2014. Among other findings, the report notes that fewer than 40 percent of the 476 IT employees surveyed said they controlled sensitive data in a "fully mature" way.
"A company may experience an issue where it doesn't know what is going on, and in a lot of cases, if it hasn't done its due diligence to understand what data is at risk and how it is being protected, then it doesn't have any indication that an anomaly is going on or that data might be at risk," Smith said.
While performing this structured risk assessment, businesses should take advantage of a secure mainframe terminal emulator. This will give users the chance to run important applications in an environment that is both easy to access and safe.