Common Myths Surrounding Security and Privacy in Facilities Management

Organisations have never been immune to cybercrimes and cyber bullies. Despite IT sectors building firewalls around every gadget and software, hackers always manage to find a way inside the system and tamper it well enough to cause significant damage.

 As more and more industrial processes are shifting from manual mode to electronic mode, the labour is getting shifted and the employees can focus their talents towards more relevant and meaningful work. However, this comes at a price exposing inner data and confidential information to hackers. Therefore, there is a dire need to take data security aspects seriously for maintaining efficiency.

Despite the nature of cybercrimes being so popular in facilities and various industries, there are certain myths that organisations still swear by. Here we have enlisted the common misconceptions and myths regarding security and privacy in facilities management that the organisations believe and need instant busting for better overall safety of processes and operations.

We don’t Need Cloud Because we are Small

It is a common myth amongst small and medium-sized organisations that the cloud is a luxury and they do not necessarily require it for their small-scale business. A lot of companies believe that investing in cloud is not an essential requirement for smooth functioning of operations. This, in turn, results in such companies relying on local servers and networks for data protection.

The truth is that cloud is not just for the large-scale enterprises or the top-notch enterprises. The cloud is a virtual space that can accommodate all kinds of data securely and with ease. The data is not just stored safely in this virtual vault but is also accessible for people working from different geographical locations and time zones. Cloud is equally important and advantageous for small and medium-sized companies just as it is to the giants as it can be expanded and contracted depending upon the needs and expectations of the company.

Training Employees is Secondary if you have a High-End Security System

A common myth surrounding security factor in most organisations is that they just need a good security solution provider or vendor for the task. Many companies are still living under the false impression that their security vendors have all the skillsets and expertise to maintain data security. Therefore, a lot of organisations consider that creating awareness amongst the employees dealing with databases is not something to be focussed upon because the employees have little or no control over the protection of data.

This is a grave mistake on the company’s part because the employees are the first people handling the data on a frequent basis. It is not the IT team or the team leaders that fetch data from various sources but the first-level employees and interns working under them. A great way to protect data is to follow some of the industry’s best practices for maximum data protection and security and this needs to be explained to all the employees working in an organisation. This is not the responsibility of security provider firms but the organisation itself to properly train their employees for gaining the most out of data protection strategy.

Insider Threat Management is Not Required

An insider threat is basically a threat caused by an employee, present staff, some business associate or a former worker who might possess access to certain data and information. It is a common misconception among businesses that their employees do not pose any serious threats to data privacy and that insider threats are only common among top organisations and institutions.

It is hard to believe but insider threats are increasing by 47% with every passing year and it is enough percentage to show that this is a growing concern among enterprises and needs to be tackled. This means that such threats are not only prevalent but are also increasing in number much faster than anticipated. Whilst companies believe that their data is not as relevant so as to require insider threat management, it has become extremely important to address the issue in the recent years. Irresponsible employee behaviour and malicious activity by any staff can result in data loss and breach at any point of time resulting in vast damages to data and release of confidential information to strangers without much effort.

Strong Passwords are Enough to Protect Data

Institutions across the globe can assure you that they are well protected because they simply believe that strong passwords and all other kinds of requirements like having at least one number, lowercase uppercase, special symbol etc. is being neatly met by their employees. Some even consider this level of security so strong and robust that they deny the need for more security solutions in place, concluding that simple password protection can hide and secure all their data.

Having strong passwords is considered to be the first step to protecting sensitive information but these are certainly not enough and certainly not as effective as having a proper security strategy in place. 

Even when companies invest in outsourcing their security requirements, the security vendors are going to drill you about keeping strong passwords and not sharing them with the folks. However, it is only the first step in data protection and depending on the kind of data you are dealing with, companies might require more concentrated and targeted security solutions. 

Strong passwords coupled with more advanced techniques like two factor authentications and more specific access keys can ensure that the sensitive data and crucial information is not easily fidgeted with or accessed by any user across the touchpoints.

We can Instantly Detect a Privacy Breach 

Some companies believe that even if they were to encounter data breaches or cyberattacks of any other form, they will be notified immediately. The myth surrounding this is that the hackers immediately take actions once they get into the access points of any system and once that is done, the breach can be identified and the data can be managed accordingly.

The breaches we see in movies and sci-fi thrillers don’t always mimic reality. Going by a recent study of cyberattacks on some giant firms, for one company, a data breach has lasted for four years. During this time, the company was unaware that their data is being regularly compromised and tampered with. 

So, this misconception that the attacker is immediately going to notify and call you regarding the attack is too good to be true. The malware and attacks are placed so secretively that it can take a long time for companies to even detect suspicious activity, especially for the larger organisations and the damage may well be amplified, before you realise that you have been hacked.

We Hardly Deal Online so No Scope of Getting Hacked

A lot of companies do not require exposing their systems to the outer web and this tradition can make them feel that they are out of bounds when it comes to cybercrimes and data theft. This myth is usually common amongst companies that rely on internal networking and servers that are limited to usage by their own employees or staff community.

The first thing that companies need to understand is that malware and ransomware can come in all forms and sizes. Offices don’t have to be necessarily online to receive a form of virus or data threat as it can travel through so many other platforms.

So, your employees may not be visiting online resources and may not be using the internet in your office desktop, but are they using their own personal devices for work? Let’s just assume that they use their own laptops for work like creating files and carrying on the leftover office data handling and then upload the external drive into the office desktop the next day. Then yes, unfortunately, the data you assume is free from the touch of internet, is at risk because the threats may easily find their way through file sharing between devices. 

Investing in Privacy is just a Fancy and Costly Affair

Despite being so aware about the prevalence of data breaches, a lot of organisations consider investing in privacy as a costly affair that can be skipped and done on-premise. For some companies, the data may be such that on-premise vaults and physical security may be enough for protection but for the ones that deal with critical databases, relying on general practices can not get the job done.

The security of data and protecting it all costs is an important investment that may look high on budget but it is proven to generate higher ROI in the long run. This shows that fortifying the data with advanced technologies is a useful industry practice which should be taken seriously if companies are looking to derive valuable information from the data gathered and use it for lucrative results in the long term.