You’ve probably been impacted by a data breach, even if you don’t understand it. Major data breaches, like the regional public data breach, which exposed sensitive information for over half the US population, have become alarmingly frequent, while many smaller attacks occur on local ground every day.
Truth be told, no business is immune to digital risks, despite companies in some industries – like those in medical and IT services – being more vulnerable to attacks than others. In 2025, staying one step forward of cybercriminals is essential to avoid the financial and reputational damage that a violation could cause.
The good news? To avoid becoming a statistic for data breaches, you don’t need a dedicated security group. We’ve compiled a list of seven tried-and-true tactics that you can use to safeguard your company, as well as a list of what steps to take if you do experience a breach.
Data Breaches Are On the Rise, and Their Effect Are Damaging
If information breaches aren’t ringing your alarm bells however, they probably does.
Up to three billion records were compromised as a result of a record number of data breaches in 2024, according to , with IT services and medical being the most affected industries.
In August alone, the exposed the sensitive information of up to 2.9 billion citizens, with smaller-scale problems being levied against secret companies like AT&, T, , and Disney.
In Seven Useful Steps: How to Prevent a Data Breach
In light of these potential harm vectors, your business should consider implementing these seven preventative measures in 2025 and above.
1. Use multi-factor-authentication ( MFA )
Multi-factor identification is a form of identity verification that necessitates clients to provide at least two different forms of evidence when registering for an account. It is frequently abbreviated to MFA.
MFA is emerging as the new gold standard in safety access as credentials only continue to be inadequately safeguard users accounts. By adding an additional layer of security to the registration procedure, the authentication estimate makes it much simpler for organizations to keep their information in the right hands and their accounts secure.
With such a high success rate, you’d believe that adopting this estimate to be a no-brainer for security-conscious business leaders. The findings of our study indicate that nearly a fifth ( 19 % ) of senior leaders are unable to define the term correctly, which suggests that many businesses are still far behind the curve in terms of understanding the security benefits of MFA.
2. Create solid usernames
With additional security measures like MFA, passwords also matter to many businesses.
The fact is that not all codes are created equally, despite the fact that passwords alone are no generally accepted as a healthy form of defense against hackers. Basic rules are much safer than complex passwords that combine lower and upper case characters, numbers, and special characters.
In fact, research has found that while plain 7-character passwords can be cracked in only two hours, it’ll take a hacker upwards of 226 years to break 12-character passwords with a mixture of numbers, words, and symbols.
Although it may seem impossible to store all of your codes in memory, like LastPass and 1Password can even help you create strong passwords for each account.
4. Use passkeys
If you want to move away from passwords altogether, lots of services will offer passkeys as a form of fortification. Passkeys rely on biometric information like facial scans and fingerprints, swipe patterns, and PINs to verify a user’s identity – instead of awkward codes.
Due to their reliance on the WebAuthn standard for public-key cryptography, they can’t be stolen or forgotten in the same way as a password or physical keys, making them much more secure than passwords. With Google revealing that passkeys have marked the “beginning of the end of the password,” and businesses like Apple and Microsoft choosing them as their preferred method of authentication, their adoption is quickly on the rise.
In our guide to passkey vs. passwords, learn more about the differences between the two security measures.
4. Download antivirus software
If you’re not currently using to protect business systems, you’re dancing with fire because computer viruses are the fastest-growing attack vector in 2025.
Cybercriminals frequently use malware like viruses, worms, or trojans to hack into systems and access company data. For instance, just this year, multinational tech company Fujitsu was the victim of a data breach after malware was discovered on its computers, and US company Change Healthcare was required to pay a$ 22 million ransom after they were targeted by Russian ransomware.
By letting businesses scan and protect systems from threats in real time, antivirus software like serve as a crucial defense against malicious software. A security Swiss army knife is too valuable to ignore in 2025 because many platforms also offer bonus security features like firewalls and VPNs.
5. Update your software
Another essential step in avoiding data breaches is to keep your software up-to-date. Cybercriminals actively look for outdated and unpatched software. Therefore, keeping up with software updates will make it easier for bad actors to gain access to weaker entry points.
Older software frequently has flaws that increase their risk of infection by malware and other viruses. Therefore, by updating your software, and unlocking the platform’s latest security defenses, your system will be much less susceptible to dangerous computer viruses.
Fortunately, keeping software up-to-date is pretty straightforward. You just need to make sure automatic software updates are always enabled and that you can always update a software patch to do so.
6. Train employees on cybersecurity
Your business can only be as strong as your weakest link. Therefore, keeping employees informed about cybersecurity is the only way to reduce damages over the long term since a staggering 88 % of data breaches are caused by human error.
We advise providing ongoing training to keep employees informed about the most recent threats for the best results. Regular refreshers are also a good way to keep your workforce informed of best practices because security training is only offered once every blue moon.
In order to assess how employees respond to threats in real time and identify potential knowledge gaps, we also advise running simulated attacks, like or ransomware drills, to make the training more engaging. However, instead of penalizing workers who respond incorrectly, it’s best to encourage those who respond correctly, to positively reinforce the right behavior.
7. Perform vendor risk assessments
Another way to proactively strengthen your company’s cybersecurity, is by conducting a vendor risk assessment. This procedure involves a business identifying and evaluating potential risks associated with a third-party vendor, such as a service provider or supplier.
Vendor risk assessments typically involve sending surveys to vendors to gather important data about their security practices, compliance frameworks, and data protection policies. These assessments can significantly reduce the likelihood of vendor-provoked data breaches by identifying potential risks before they occur.
We advise conducting reviews before hiring a new vendor. And aside from the initial assessment, we recommend continuously monitoring your vendor’s security posture, to ensure that risks are mitigated in the long-term.
What To Do In The Event Of A Data Breach
Following the steps above will significantly lower your likelihood of becoming a statistic for data breaches. However, as the threat landscape grows, it’s a harsh reality that even if you use good cyber hygiene, you could still be the victim of an attack.
- Backup your data: Before you get hacked, the first risk mitigation action should actually occur. If an attack occurs, you can quickly and effectively restore lost or compromised data by regularly backing up your data. If all of your data is safely backed up, it will also give you some protection from ransomware attacks.
- Contain the breach – In the unfortunate event of a breach, you’ll need to immediately identify the systems, data, and users that have been affected. Before severing the compromised systems from wider networks, you’ll also need to know the breach’s entry point and method of attack.
- Create an incident response plan – You should begin working on your incident response plan once the breach has been contained. This includes assembling an efficient response team comprised of IT, HR, legal professionals, and executive leadership, before following taking the necessary steps to remedy the situation.
- Notify the affected parties: Depending on the extent of the data breach, you may also need to inform key employees and third-party experts as soon as possible and offer them the support they require. You might need to do this in a specific time frame, depending on the laws in your nation and region.
- Strengthen your defenses– Data breaches can be challenging to learn. So, once you’ve carried out a thorough post-mortem, you should revise your cybersecurity policies based on the lessons you learned from the cyberattack.
Learn more about other you can take to safeguard your company from undiscovered threats.