Today’s cyber environment leaves little room for error. Hackers are constantly on the prowl, targeting the lifeblood of many businesses – their data. Most companies have to safeguard multiple strings and depositories of information from malicious actors, from text and phone communications to email exchanges and confidential client information.
Protecting the data that organizations send, receive, store, and use must be one of the top priorities, if not THE main concern, for managed service providers. Effective cybersecurity strategies include multiple layers of safeguards to prevent penetration. Email encryption should be a core part of those defences.
Why is data encoding so important? Most companies protect critical information with traditional products such as firewalls, access control, and intrusion prevention. While those solutions are necessary to prevent breaches, no software or service can guarantee your clients 100% protection.
Cybercriminals breaching their networks are unfortunate inevitabilities. Data encryption solutions serve as the last line of defence and limit the breadth and depth of vulnerabilities and minimize sensitive information exposure. Encryption scrambles information, including text, images, and other files, into ciphertext, rendering it unreadable without a decryption key or password.
Successful Hacks Are Inevitable
Cybercrime is running rampant. Hackers hit thirty thousand websites each day. Every second, 75 records go missing, and there is a new web attack every 39 seconds. Cybercriminals are experts at social engineering and easily trick users into downloading malware-infected attachments or clicking on links to malicious websites.
The reality is no matter how often MSPs and their business clients provide education to end-users, the schemes continue to work, and their systems get exposed to ransomware and other cybercrimes. Due to their ongoing success, more hackers will jump on board and begin employing these methods, resulting in even more need for support and remediation.
With the likelihood of a breach so high, encryption is your best solution. Plain and simple, these technologies not only work, but solutions like Mailprotector’s Bracket™ are easy for your clients to use and a cost-effective way to make email “unphishable.” It converts the original text into a completely random line of numbers. There is no pattern, making it practically impossible for hackers to decipher without a key. Of all the security technologies service providers can implement, encryption is by far the least penetrable, providing your clients more peace of mind.
A “Must” for Compliance
Virtually every organization has to adhere to some regulation or industry standard. For example, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) requires healthcare providers to utilize security features to safeguard patients’ sensitive information. Similarly, FERPA (the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act) details the methods higher learning institutions must put in place to protect student records. Retailers must also defend consumer data to comply with the Fair Credit Practices Act (FCPA). These organizations must fully comply with their respective rules, or they may face hefty fines and/or other forms of punishment.
These industry standards all require or highly recommend using encryption to safeguard information. No matter the legislation that your clients must comply with, these methodologies are cheap alternatives to the fines associated with non-compliance. Even for the industries that don’t require data protection, encryption is an important tool for protecting corporate and personal information. Any breach and consequent leakage could be the difference between a successful day of operations and a fatal hit to their company’s reputation.
Cyberthreats Are No Laughing Matter
Data breaches, phishing, and ransomware attacks occur every hour of every day. Those continual threats are a big reason why, in today’s cyber world, MSPs must utilize a layered security approach.
An effective cybersecurity program must include encryption as a first line of defence. Those solutions should not just be options for the management team or key employees but also a standard tool for every end-user who sends emails through the corporate systems.
Are your clients using encryption to protect their data and company reputation? Now is not the time to fall short. Ensure their protection with the best encryption solutions and educate every end-user on the best practices for securing and sharing data.
Protecting your clients from today’s biggest security risks is definitely no laughing matter. Give them the encryption and cybersecurity solutions they need to avoid becoming the “low hanging fruit” cybercriminals love to attack.
Author: by Greg Aiken
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