As technology advances, so do the methods of data breaches and security threats. It is not only an external attacker that a company has to fear, but internal attacks as well. Insider threats account for a significant portion of data security breaches. These can come in the form of malicious employees, unintentional actions by employees, or even stolen credentials. As a result, organizations need to ensure that their data is protected not only from outside forces but also from internal ones. One way to do this is by implementing data immutability and change tracking.
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Data immutability is a crucial capability that ensures data cannot be changed, deleted or altered. Data immutability ensures that data remains consistent throughout its lifecycle, from creation to destruction. One way organizations can implement data immutability is through the use of blockchain technology. By using blockchain technology, each transaction is recorded in a secure and immutable ledger. Each block in the ledger is verified by a network of nodes, making it nearly impossible for anyone to tamper with the data.
However, data immutability alone is not enough to protect against insider threats. Organizations should also implement audit trails and change tracking. Audit trails track all user activity and allow organizations to monitor any changes made to the data. By keeping a record of all actions taken by employees, it is easier to identify and investigate any suspicious activity. Change tracking tracks changes made to individual files and records who made the changes, when the changes were made, and what changes were made. With change tracking, organizations are better equipped to identify any unauthorized changes made to data.
When organizations combine data immutability, audit trails, and change tracking, they create a powerful ally in combating insider threats. These tools can significantly reduce the risk of data tampering, protect sensitive information and enable companies to detect and respond to security breaches quickly.
There are some challenges to implementing data immutability, audit trails, and change tracking effectively. One of which is ensuring the right personnel, policies, and procedures are in place to make the system successful. Organizations should ensure that employees know how to access and use the system correctly, that policies and procedures around data handling and access are in place, and that the system is regularly reviewed and updated.
Conclusion: Insider threats can pose just as much of a risk to an organization as external threats. By implementing data immutability, audit trails, and change tracking, organizations can significantly reduce the risk of data breaches caused by an insider threat. These tools work together to create an incredible security feature that can detect, prevent and stop attacks on data, thereby protecting the organization from the potential significant impact of cyber-attacks. Organizations that implement data immutability and share this information with their employees will have the necessary resources to combat insider threats and maintain a secure digital environment.
About Aldefi: Every enterprise has critical and sensitive data that they need to protect. Today this data is stored in file systems and databases that are easily tamperable. There is no consolidated audit trail of all changes to sensitive data. Aldefi solves these problems: we offer data immutability through our SQL ledger database that solves the data integrity issue. Our unified audit trail capability tracks all changes to sensitive and critical data. Together they help identify and resolve any data threats from insiders.