You’ve probably been impacted by a data breach, even if you don’t understand it. Major data breaches, like the regional community data breach, where sensitive information from over half the US population was compromised, are alarmingly frequent, while many smaller attacks occur on local ground every day.
No business is immune to digital threats, despite the fact that businesses in some industries, like those in and IT services, are more vulnerable to attacks than people. Being one step ahead of cybercriminals is a requirement in 2025 to minimize the financial and reputational damages that could result from a violation.
The good news? To avoid becoming a statistic for data breaches, you don’t need a dedicated security staff. We’ve compiled a list of tried-and-true tactics that you can use to safeguard your company, as well as instructions for how to proceed if a breach occurs.
Data Breaches Are On the Rise, and Their Effects Are Damaging
If data breaches aren’t ringing your alarm bells right away, they definitely does.
Up to three billion records were compromised as a result of a record number of data breaches in 2024, according to , with IT service and care being the most affected industries.
In August alone, the exposed the sensitive information of up to 2.9 billion citizens, with smaller-scale attacks being levied against secret firms like AT&, T, , and Disney.
In Seven Useful Steps: How to Prevent a Data Breach
Here are seven wise steps your business can take to reduce dangers in 2025 and beyond with these strike vectors in mind.
1. Use multi-factor-authentication ( MFA )
An identity verification technique called multi-factor identification, or MFA, requires people to provide at least two different forms of evidence when registering with an account.
MFA is emerging as the new gold standard in safety exposure as credentials only continue to fail to adequately protect user accounts. By adding an additional layer of security to the login process, the authentication measure makes it much simpler for businesses to keep their data in the right hands and their accounts secure.
With such a high success rate, you’d expect that adopting this measure 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 MFA’s security benefits.
2. Create strong passwords
When using additional security measures like MFA, passwords still prove to be necessary for many businesses.
The truth is that not all codes are created equally, despite the fact that passwords alone are not generally accepted as a safe form of defense against hackers. Simple codes are significantly safer than simple codes, and strong passwords that include a mix of lower and upper case letters, numbers, and special characters are.
In fact, research has found that while simple 7-character passwords can be , it’ll take a hacker upwards of 226 years to crack 12-character passwords with a mixture of numbers, letters, and symbols.
Although it may seem impossible to store all of your codes in memory, like LastPass and 1Password can store them all for you and even assist you in creating 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 using to protect business systems today, you’re dancing with fire because computer viruses are the fastest-growing attack vector in 2025.
Cybercriminals frequently use malware like viruses, worms, and 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 barrier of 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 preventing data breaches is to keep your software up-to-date. Cybercriminals actively look for outdated and obvious software. Therefore, by staying up to date with software updates, your application will be protected by security patches, making it more difficult for bad actors to gain access to simple 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 is only as strong as its 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.
For best results, we advise offering ongoing training to keep employees informed about the most recent threats. Regular refreshers are also a good way to keep your workforce informed of best practices, as security training is only offered once every blue moon. It’s also a good idea to keep your employees informed of best practices.
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 vendors questionnaires to gather important information about their data protection policies, compliance standards, and security practices. 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 any new vendors. 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, despite the threat landscape’s constant evolution, it is a harsh reality that even if you use good cyber hygiene, you could still be attacked.
- Back up your data – The first risk mitigation action should take place before you are hacked. If an attack occurs, regularly backing up your data will enable you to quickly and effectively restore lost or compromised 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 disconnecting the compromised systems from wider networks, you’ll also need to know the attack’s entry point and method of action.
- 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 affected parties – Depending on the extent of the data breach, you’ll also need to inform key employees and third-party experts as soon as possible and give them the necessary assistance. 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 significant learning curves. 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.