Data leak – one of the most concerned topic, poses a thoughtful problem for every organization. With the increase in number of incidents, associated financial loss also grows ominously. Data leaks can easily make their way through many roads such as illegal access to databases, employee carelessness or some other security breaks. In fact, availability of data in various formats such as web pages, paper documents, e-mails, electronics and databases even adds more complexity to data security.
The same is the case with SharePoint. The basic motive behind implementing SharePoint in an organization is to enhance the security of content. With time, people are becoming more used to SharePoint and therefore they are using shortcuts so as to grant access to any content. SharePoint allows organizations the fast and easy creation of central document repositories that can be accessed from anywhere. Due to its rapid adoption, organizations are facing problems in controlling its growth, enforcing constant security policies, and access control. Though, SharePoint data loss prevention is a priority but don’t take it as a stand-alone project. It’s better to look at it from a risk management perspective rather than another IT security project to be taken care of.
It’s essential to keep track of the SharePoint environment where sensitive information is stored and how it is flowing from one user or process to another. An unauthorized information flow can become a cause of data leakage event. Therefore, proper measures should be taken so as to prevent SharePoint data leaks.
SharePoint Security – Best Practices
- Segregating User Permissions
Managing higher level permissions to view content can be a daunting task in SharePoint. Level of authorities are extremely different in SharePoint and therefore, one has to separate out these permissions. Carelessness in segregating user permissions can possibly put you at a high SharePoint data loss risk not only from security breach perspective but also from compliance breach point of view. Thus, organizations should take proper measures to separate out these permissions effectively.
- Access Control
It’s essential to maintain a minimum privilege access policy for data that has been migrated successfully. When it comes to SharePoint, maintaining privilege access can be a daunting task as permissions are quite complex within SharePoint, which often results in surplus access even after best efforts. To deal with such issues, the best possible way is to make sure that permissions are business-merited so as to automate the process of defining withdrawals. Besides this, another key thing is to make certain that an unremitting precision is maintained in creating a list of business owners who can be conferred each and every time permission changes are applied.
- Constant Monitoring
SharePoint data security is not a one-time event, it’s an ongoing process. With the change in user needs, the controls that limit access should also be changed. The accurateness and timely application of those access controls is surely the best possible way to reduce the risk of SharePoint data loss. That is why it is recommended to maintain a proper record of each and every SharePoint access activity in order to ensure that it can be checked on later for forensic analysis, identification of anomalous access or security policy refinement.
What’s more?
Putting all these things together, will ensure a growth-ready SharePoint security plan. Though, these things are necessary to make your SharePoint environment secure, but applying these things manually is not that easy as it may seems to be. Therefore, a third party tool is indeed needed. LepideAuditor Suite for SharePoint is a tool which can fulfill all your security needs easily.
Lepide SharePoint Auditor can easily recognize surplus access permissions and stale data identification. The detailed statistics and access log screen helps you to understand the need to move the right data and permissions to SharePoint. Moreover, it also automates the identification of both the business owners and the persons who should have permissions repealed. Lepide Auditor Suite for SharePoint keeps track of each and every single change made within SharePoint. Thus, helping organizations in later analysis.
To wrap it up
SharePoint Data leaks other than bringing loss to organization, brings an untold public embarrassment as well. We have always heard the phrase “Prevention is better than cure”, same implies in your organization. Dealing with data leaks and data breaches is not an easy task but preventing them is easy. A bit of hard work with proper planning, maintenance, monitoring, auditing, etc. is what all you need to secure your SharePoint data from outside and inside attack.