Network Security Bible, 2nd Edition

Chapter 27. Data Protection

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding the importance of data protection

• Identifying issues with endpoint security

• Determining the dangers and methods for dealing with insider threats

The most critical part of an organization is its intellectual property. While an organization never wants its systems to be compromised, if the impact is minimal and no sensitive data is compromised, the damage is contained. However, if critical intellectual property is compromised, the impact could not only be devastating but could impact the ability of the organization to continue performing its mission.

In this chapter, we will look at the importance of data protection and how it ties into endpoint security and insider threats.

When dealing with protecting data or critical information the following are the key sections to focus on.

Identifying and classifying sensitive data

Data should be clearly labeled via a digital signature, which denotes its classification and importance to the organization. The classification level should be used to determine to what extent the data should be controlled, and to reflect its value in terms of business assets. This value should be able to change each time data is created, amended, enhanced, stored, or transmitted. Using this metric allows for filtering to occur to assist in controlling user access, to prevent data from leaving an organization, and to avoid improper storage. However, other controls should be in place to prevent users from falsifying ...