Chances are, you’ve become pretty familiar with common cybersecurity terms over the last few years. Ransomware, malware, security monitoring, and phishing are all household terms in the wake of growing cybercrime threats.
One term you might not be so familiar with is Data Vaccination™. This concept which forms the backbone of Noftek’s security offering is unique to our solution, and it’s built around different security concepts than those related to solutions like antivirus or security monitoring.
Most cybersecurity solutions are built around the idea of perimeter protection. Firewalls are used like a fence to surround your network and data; Security Operations Center monitoring is akin to installing cameras around your network; antivirus hopes to catch malicious code if and when it slips through gaps in the fence.
These ideas are all built around the hope of stopping intrusion. But time and experience has shown you that intrusions are almost impossible to stop completely. Whenever a better lock is built, cybercriminals simply create better lockpicks. When a fence is too strong, they sneak in malicious software through a patch, much like stowing away on a delivery truck. They use social engineering to get people on the inside to unlock the doors, or if the defenses are too strong, they simply drive a bulldozer in through the front door with a costly, but effective, brute force attack.
Noftek’s Data Vaccination™ doesn’t concern itself with your perimeter. Instead, it focuses on what the criminals are actually trying to get to: your data. When NDV is deployed on a network, our software integrates into the DNA of every piece of data so that it can only be accessed and manipulated by users and devices that are in your protected zone. When data is removed from that zone, it becomes inaccessible and useless to cybercriminals (or anyone else).
This means your data can’t be ransomed, because the data itself is unreadable when it leaves your protected zone.
Your data can be leaked, but the leak will be harmless because no one will be able to see what the data actually contains. Even copied files are protected, and limits can be set on copy-pasting or screen-grabbing data out of your environment.
Even if your data is altered within your protected zone, all such activity is tracked and recorded through the Noftek system, and malicious activity can be identified, reversed, and traced back to a specific user.
In short, even if someone gets through your perimeter, there’s nothing of value for them to take.
Step One: Evaluation
Vaccinating your data is simple and painless (you won’t even feel a pinch). Before we deploy the Noftek Data Vaccination™ agent on your network, we ask a few questions to determine how that deployment will look:
- Where is your data residing? What servers or cloud sites hold your data?
- What user permissions and policies are in place in your environment?
- Where is data shared? What third-party apps have access to your data?
- Who creates data within your organization?
- What are the main applications your organization uses?
We secure data based on user access, authorized devices, and which applications are associated with what file types. We don’t even need to audit your data or determine which files need to be protected, because NDV protects all data within your environment.
Throughout this process, the Noftek team never handles or sees your data.
Step Two: Onboarding
Setting up is easy, and begins with deploying the NDV agent in your network. Authorized users are added to the environment and confirmations can be sent via email or set by your own IT team. On our end, redundant permissions are set up at your IT team’s direction.
Even though your IT admin can set access and group permissions, they can be excluded from actually accessing the data, further protecting you from insider threats or leaks.
Step Three: Vaccination
After deployment, NDV creates your vaccinated ecosystem, the aforementioned protected zone. This zone is where your data can be freely accessed and modified, and is limited by user permissions and device restrictions. Data within this zone is tracked, and its use and movements documented.
Once the protected zone is defined and created, all data within is vaccinated instantly. From that point forward, all data received into the protected zone or created will be vaccinated, not just data that’s currently at rest.
All of this is done without adding any additional steps to your workflow.
Step Four: Ongoing Maintenance/Monitoring
Once deployed, NDV prevents any single person from unlocking your data. The Noftek team will assist with permissions changes as needed, as well as oversee the constant tracking of data use and movement. This doesn’t involve invasive viewing of your logs that create more holes in your perimeter, we simply document the state and changes of data. Access dates and times, as well as which users gained or asked for access, are all tracked. This creates a secure paper trail for compliance and potential legal action, if necessary.
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As you can see, Noftek Data Vaccination™ is a simple, painless process that makes your data valueless to hackers and insider threats. What could be a better loss prevention measure than having nothing worth stealing?
If you have questions about our process or would like to know more about NDV, don’t hesitate to schedule a call or reach out at 1-404-419-6084.