In today’s digital world, data breaches are becoming more and more common. In fact, recent studies found that a large majority of breaches are caused by stolen secrets & credentials, such as API keys. API keys are used to access data and resources from another application or service. They are typically used to connect two applications so that they can share data. For example, if you use a weather app on your phone, that app likely uses an API key to access the Weather Channel’s data.

Cybersecurity awareness is an increasingly hot topic, especially during this year’s Cyber Security Awareness Month. There are many things individuals and organisations can do to improve their awareness around security, helping to protect data confidentiality. In this blog post, we will discuss some essential tips for securing your data coming to the end of this important month.

Recently, we caught up with Frank Kyazze, Privacy Director here at Kintent, to chat about his experience at the Data Connectors conference in Dallas last month. Frank had the opportunity to serve on the “Protecting Against Cyber Attacks” discussion panel while in attendance. Frank took part in the panel, discussing how now more than ever, it is imperative for organizations to be vigilant against bad actors.

In the early days of internet security, an access-centric security model made sense. Access lists on routers were complemented by firewalls and, later, intrusion detection systems. Given the processing capacity available at the time, this was absolutely adequate and appropriate for protecting a website, even with e-commerce. But that was the 1990s, and the internet has become so much more than websites with some shopping capabilities. Now, it’s the backbone of our society.

The threat landscape in IT is ever-evolving, with new risks arising practically daily. Trying to anticipate the next type of threat can feel a little like playing whack-a-mole. Instead, IT teams are focusing on vulnerability management: reducing the opportunities for hackers and other bad actors to find a weakness in cyber defenses. Vulnerability management is an iterative process that allows companies to proactively defend valuable assets, no matter how the threat landscape changes.

Despite the increase in cloud adoption, many organizations are still hesitant to move their confidential and highly sensitive data to the cloud. It’s not uncommon for companies to have concerns about being able to maintain the privacy, integrity, and security of their data when they migrate to the cloud or leverage cloud services. This is especially true for organizations that operate in highly regulated industries, such as healthcare, financial services, insurance, and the public sector.

Data encryption goes back to ancient civilisations that used forms of message concealment, in peace as well as in wartime. The Egyptians used Disordered Hieroglyphics, the Greeks Steganography, the Spartans Scytale and the Romans, the Caesar Shift Cypher. While these basic methods laid the foundations for modern cryptography, what has evolved are two fundamental approaches based on complex mathematics: symmetric and asymmetric encryption.

Data encryption is a bit like insurance - we all know we need it (a necessary evil you might say), but it’s difficult to decide what we need to protect, and with an increasing amount of options out there, it’s a mission in itself to find the right provider. That’s probably why when we take out insurance we tend to only get coverage when we feel it’s absolutely necessary – for example, for our property, our cars and when we travel.