Five Tips for Improving Your Organization's Data Security

Please note: Some information in this blog post may be outdated. Kanguru no longer offers Kanguru Endpoint Protector

 

Hackers want your information, and are willing to go to great lengths to get it.  Kanguru goes to even greater lengths to protect you.Every company struggles to keep up with data security, and it may feel like a never-ending battle at times. Employees often have other matters on their mind besides data security which can make it difficult to implement better practices and enforce security policies. Administrators can only put out so many fires throughout the day before their attention is sacrificed for more urgent matters.

However, with the right security measures in place, administrators and supervisors can immediately see results that not only greatly reduce the risks, but make their jobs a whole lot easier with options that protect automatically:

 

 

  • Enforce company data security policies automatically
  • Automatically encrypt and protect assets and data coming in and out of the organization
  • Block any potentially dangerous peripherals from plugging in anywhere on the network
  • Manage all encrypted USB devices around the world from a single cloud console
  • Protect from malware with secure firmware devices

    If you’re noticing problems in your organization, or feeling overwhelmed with trying to manage and protect all of the organization's data assets, here are five ways to improve data security immediately.    

     

    1) Adapt Better, More Efficient Habits

    The people most invested in the success of the company need to have the right mindset about how to keep information safe. Large companies fall prey to this particularly often, because there could be so much bureaucracy that communication, and ultimately dedication, could fall apart quickly. Middle management, especially may have difficulty trying to integrate departments with vastly different skill sets (e.g., sales and IT.) The minute executives throw their hands up and let people do their own thing though is the minute the doors often open wide for hackers to get in. Start by adapting better habits with day-to-day habits within your area, and then move onto other major players in the company.

    Even with the most common computer programs available, chances are employees only truly understand what they come in contact with every day. It may be smart to put more emphasis on data security training, even as staff might raise concerns that it’s unnecessary or wasting their time. When making an investment in technology, you also need to make the investment in those who use that technology. Explain to them why it’s so important, and ensure the person explaining it actually knows what they’re talking about. This is especially important when one person is out for a day or if they quit unexpectedly, because too many major errors are caused when daily routines are thrown off. A company with data security ingrained in every step will be better prepared to handle a catastrophe.

     

    2) Improve Data Security Easily & Automatically with Encrypted Products

    Don't expect employees and staff to make security a high priority or assume they are protecting data when working with company information. You must put automatic security policies in place and enforce those policies. Though staff may immediately react to sudden changes, implementing slow, systematic changes can make enormous and immediate improvements to the organization's overall security. Kanguru has painstakingly designed its products to seamlessly secure data without sacrificing the conveniences of conducting business on the fly.

    It’s amazing what security improvements can be done with the right equipment at your fingertips. It instantly lets employees know that you take data security seriously. There are products available that can enhance a strong security culture within an organization without sacrificing convenience or company culture, and certain defensive tactics can be put in place almost immediately. Kanguru Solutions is devoted to putting the power back in your hands rather than the hands of those who have less-than-honorable intentions with company information. Kanguru offers heavy-duty measures meant to provide a special edge against hackers. Kanguru's AES 256-Bit hardware encrypted Defender® drives provide the highest standard of protection — protection that’s been approved by the Department of Homeland Security.  In fact, government agencies are only allowed to purchase security products from countries who comply with TAA regulations or the Trade Agreements Act, to which most Kanguru products are compliant.  Kanguru offers FIPS 140-2 and Common Criteria certified drives for highly-regulated organizations, as well as high-end AES 256-bit encrypted drives for non-regulated organizations, with a wide variety of capacities available.

    The following features are included on Kanguru Defender® USB Flash Drives Series:

    • Onboard Anti-Virus Protection
    • Compliant with NIST, HIPAA, FINRA and GLBA
    • FIPS 140-2 Certification (certain models)
    • Physical Write Protect Switch (certain models)
    • Remote Management Ready
    • Compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux
    • RSA-2048 secure firmware
    • TAA Compliance
    • Brute Force Protection (certain models)
    • Tamper Proof Design

    No matter what type of organization, there are encrypted data storage options for your particular needs.

     

    3) Manage Company Security Around the World With a Cloud Console

    Remotely managing actions and data assets of the organization is an administrator's ultimate tool for ensuring data security and protecting information. IT Administrators can manage actions and company property from a central cloud console location in case something goes wrong, and take immediate action to prevent and report on potential risks. 

    Kanguru has several great tools available for administrators, depending upon their specific needs:

    • KRMC-Cloud™
    • KRMC-Cloud PRO™
    • KRMC-Enterprise™
    • Kanguru Endpoint Protector™

    KRMC-Cloud (Kanguru Remote Management Console™) is the perfect, easy-to-use solution for organizations that need a single administrator to watch over the company's secure, encrypted USB assets around the world. KRMC Cloud can be implemented without delay to immediately start reaping security benefits.  KRMC Cloud is hosted by Kanguru's Enterprise-level, international cloud-hosting platform.

    KRMC-Cloud PRO is for larger organizations who may require more administrators to monitor certain assets. Organizations with KRMC-Cloud Pro can delegate certain tasks to several other administrators under one-super administrator, and restrict certain permissions as needed. KRMC Cloud is hosted by Kanguru's Enterprise-level, international cloud-hosting platform.

    KRMC-Enterprise is a self-hosted platform for enterprise organizations who wish to remotely manage secure USB assets from their own server.

    Since no data can be seen by the KRMC management interface, IT Administrators can concentrate on simply managing the assets, while the staff in possession of the individual secure drives can work securely with the data under strict security policies.

    Kanguru Endpoint Protector is a 100% cloud-based endpoint security solution, so it can be immediately implemented by organizations large or small to secure the company infrastructure. There are three powerful modules to choose from, which can be used independently, or together to form a dynamic, comprehensive solution.

     

      4) Use Secure Firmware Protection

      Part of migrating a culture to that of more awareness of data security culture means understanding and preparing for the next level of attacks. Kanguru does its due diligence in keeping up with what could be the next potential innovation in a hacker’s quest for information, and we create tools to ensure it doesn’t happen to our product users. For instance, experts have seen that thieves may find a way to infiltrate USB device firmware, which could come in the form of keyboards, mice or even webcams. They call this phenomena “badUSB” and Kanguru has an entire collection of secure firmware drives to protect a network from a devastating infiltration. The Kanguru Defender® line of hardware encrypted USB drives automatically protect you from coming into contact with these harmful new tricks from third-party hackers, with digitally-signed, RSA-2048 secure firmware as they are immune to such risks.  If a hacker ever tried to use a Kanguru Defender USB stick to infiltrate an organization, say an energy or utility company by tampering with the firmware to introduce malware, the drive would immediately shut down, preventing any risk to the organization. 

      Kanguru also provides an non-encrypted version for organizations that may not require encryption for their needs, but still want to protect their organization from malware. The Kanguru FlashTrust contains the same digitally-signed firmware security implementation as our Kanguru Defender encrypted counterparts.      

      Kanguru even provides protected firmware DVD and Blu-ray burner products.

       

      5) Subtle Shifts, Big Culture Changes

      You can’t expect staff to instantly shift gears because that’s just not how people work. However, you may be surprised at how quickly new habits can be formed. Often it just takes one consistent change to start calling people to make more changes in how they operate. Use these strategies to help formulate a plan to ensure the continued success of your organization.


      Kanguru is a global leader in providing cutting-edge data security management solutions to banking, government, educational institutions, and consumers. Kanguru continues to develop state-of-the-art data encryption products to protect against unforeseen events. For more information on Kanguru, please visit www.kanguru.com.

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