How to recognize an information leak before losses?
In most companies where we have worked over the last 8 years, data leaks did not start with an action-movie style hacker break-in. They usually started with minor oversights that accumulated over months, leading to real financial losses.
First symptoms of a data leak
The most common warning signal, which many managers in Poznań downplay, is a sudden increase in the number of emails with incorrect attachments. If your employees start sending files to wrong recipients more often than once every 47 days, that's the first alarm bell. At Idryleaks, we often repeat: transparency is the foundation of profit, and human error is its greatest enemy.
The second symptom is increased activity on shared accounts after working hours. We noticed in Q2 2024 that in 31% of the cases we studied, it was logins between 10:00 PM and 4:00 AM that were key to identifying unauthorized access. Data must be secure, so if you don't have an access policy implemented, you need to change that this month.
If your employees start sending files to wrong recipients more often than once every 47 days, that's the first alarm bell.
Internal audit: where to start?
You don't have to implement complicated enterprise-class systems right away. Start by verifying user permissions in your CRM or accounting system. Check whether each of your 12 specialists actually needs access to the full database of contractors. From experience, we know that limiting access only to necessary modules reduces the risk of leaks by 23%.
The next step is analyzing data export logs. If you see that one employee downloaded 342 records yesterday, and their standard daily work involves handling a maximum of 15 queries, you have a ready reason for an explanatory conversation. Facts instead of promises – that's the approach we have used since 2017 in audits for our clients.
How to react when you suspect a problem?
If you have a feeling that data is leaking, don't wait for the end of the quarter. The first action should be securing copies of server logs from the last 14 days. At Idryleaks, we often see that clients delete this data as part of routine cleaning, which completely prevents us from doing a subsequent audit trail and finding the culprit.
Take care of quick password changes and enforcing two-factor verification on all administrative accounts. This costs less than 2 hours of team work, and the effectiveness of this method is invaluable. Remember that in the case of a real incident, every hour of delay costs an average of 1,400 PLN in lost business opportunities or reputation repair costs.
Take care of quick password changes and enforcing two-factor verification on all administrative accounts.
Why is it worth being vigilant daily?
Running a business in current realities requires constant monitoring of information flows, not just invoices. From our experience, companies that conduct a security audit once every 18 months are 47% better prepared for unexpected data extortion attempts. We check the facts and know that team education gives more than the most expensive firewall.
If you have doubts whether your procedures are sufficient, sign up for our consultation. Get a quote in 24h and learn where the gaps lie in your anti-leak protection system. Facts instead of promises is the only way to protect your company's capital against unjustified losses.
