HELP WITH UNDERSTANDING IT CERTIFICATIONS
IT Certifications can be easy to lose track of. If your IT department is under-resourced, boosting your business with new technologies can become challenging. Expanding your department through outsourcing is a beneficial way to gain some quick experience, but be sure to evaluate the certifications, facilities and equipment of your potential partners. Having an IT professional that understands the certifications and data security requirements can help you stay compliant, operational and keep your data safe.
Why are IT Certifications Important?
Electronic business systems operate with a variety of sensitive and confidential data. Since this information is vital to the lifeline of businesses, the data must be secured in the best way possible, regardless of the size of your business.
Some examples of confidential data include:
Product patents and copyrights
Service details
Business plans
Financial information, bank statements and credit card information
Customer accounts
Any security breaches or data leaks are a threat to businesses and customers alike. Flawed data security puts all of the operations at risk, exposes client information, and could destroy your reputation in the process.
What Can Businesses Do to Provide Data Security?
While the potential risks of failed data security events are numerous, the added costs associated with breaches of security can rise exponentially. In order to combat security breaches, there are several preventative measures that businesses can take to protect their organization.
Implementing Regular Data Backup Schedules
Data backup includes copying, reorganizing and storing digital information on physical data storage devices, cloud servers or other dedicated servers. Having a regular schedule for data backup is important for businesses because it allows easy access to past data, helps retrieve data if it’s been lost, and can influence the recovery of data that’s been corrupted.
Data Recovery Methods
The process of data recovery involves reclaiming data that is no longer easily accessible due to corrupted or damaged storage. While the damage could be on the physical storage device or a corrupted digital file system, implementing a data recovery plan can help businesses avoid downtime from the effects of tainted files.
Protection Against Viruses
The negative effects of viruses include data corruption, theft of private information, and the spread of spam, which can hurt business processes and the reputation of the organization. In order to safeguard against viruses that can easily infect and damage important data, malware protection software is installed in systems for improved security.
Building Firewalls
Firewalls include entire networks of security systems that help to monitor and control the traffic based on fixed security rules. A properly built firewall can restrict access to all suspicious incoming or outgoing traffic, prevent infection and spread of malware, and eliminate networked computer worms.
What Are NAID Certification Guidelines?
The National Association for Information Destruction (NAID) provides regulations and guidelines for data protection and data destruction. Programs under NAID are designed specifically to verify and monitor regulatory compliance, as well as implement best practices for certification of secure data destruction.
As the most recognized and acknowledged verification of data destruction in the world, NAID certification programs consist of:
Verifying service provider compliance with all data protection regulations
Fulfilling the client’s legal responsibility for information destruction
Qualifications for Risk Assessment as required under the HIPAA Security Rule
Qualifications regarding due diligence required by all data protection regulations
Meeting forthcoming requirements of the EU General Data Protection Regulation
Through a comprehensive scheduled and unannounced audit program, NAID AAA Certification verifies the qualifications of certified information destruction providers. This rigorous process supports the protection of confidential customer information by helping organizations meet numerous laws and regulations.
What is the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?
The GDPR is the primary law regulating how companies protect European Union (EU) citizens’ personal data. GDPR requirements apply to each member state of the European Union and are being considered for adoption throughout North America – including having largely been adopted already in California. Some of the key privacy and data protection requirements of GDPR include:
Requiring the consent of subjects for data processing
Providing data breach notifications
Protecting privacy with anonymous data collected
Safely handling the transfer of data across borders
Demanding certain companies to appoint a data protection officer to oversee GDPR compliance
The GDPR mandates a baseline set of standards for companies to safeguard the processing and movement of their client’s personal data. Businesses are encouraged to read the GDPR guidelines, look to other organizations for understanding, monitor current websites and be responsible for data collection. For US companies offering goods or services to individuals located in the EU or collecting behavioral information on EU users, GDPR compliance is mandatory.
What Are the Main Benefits of Data Security?
Using outlier detection capabilities coupled with intelligence, organizations can detect potential threats based on relative changes in behavior. With the right data security programs in place, businesses can:
Protect valuable information and assets
Stay ahead of competitors
Expand into new markets
Reduce the costs of development
Improve software interoperability
Meet current standards, such as PCI DSS, HIPAA, GLBA, and GDPR
When your business is recognized as an example of an organization with strong cybersecurity, it can help you earn the trust of your potential customers, current clients and business partners. By choosing a fully-certified partner like Aegis Solutions, you can minimize your costs while maximizing the value of your business.
The Aegis Solutions Advantage
Aegis Solutions is a full-service IT hardware partner that specializes in asset management, asset disposition, security and support. We bring deep industry experience and understand key certifications such as:
NAID
R2-RIOS
NIST
HIPPA
GDPR
As a Certified i-SIGMA-NAID member and a member of the R2-RIOS Certified Recycler program, Aegis Solutions is dedicated to helping businesses understand their IT certifications and improve their data security requirements. Through our partnership with White Canyon, we utilize the latest in electronic remediation methodologies and are continuously updating our processes to meet new guidelines and requirements set forth by NIST and governing agencies.
Our state-of-the-art facility provides our customers with the peace of mind of knowing that their data is well protected. Our facilities house electronic remediation equipment including the Ameri-Shred AMS-1000HD-SSD – a state of the art shredder which is enclosed by tamper-proof steel wire caging. Our facility also features keyed access, full-time video surveillance at the main entrance, and full-time video surveillance inside the area to monitor all activities that take place while handling data devices.