7 expert recommendations to apply immediately
- Segment according to the principle of least privilege (RBAC & Zero Trust): Only authorized employees should have access to customer files. Implement strong authentication (MFA with a FIDO2 key or TOTP) to eliminate the risk of identity theft.
- Guarantee end-to-end encryption (AES-256): Encrypt customer databases at rest and in transit (TLS 1.3). Adopt client-side ("zero-knowledge") encryption: the encryption key must never leave your infrastructure.
- Map and purge in accordance with Article 32 of the GDPR: Keep your inventory of processing activities up to date and apply strict retention periods. Deleting obsolete data reduces the attack surface in the event of exfiltration.
- Continuously raise employee awareness: People remain the leading intrusion vector. Hold regular sessions to train your teams to detect phishing, spear phishing and whaling.
- Deploy a vulnerability management plan (Patch Management): Most intrusions exploit known, unpatched vulnerabilities. Automate critical updates on your databases, CRM and file servers within 48 hours.
- Conduct cold restore drills (RTO/RPO): An unverified backup is an illusion. Carry out two full crash simulations each year to measure the actual recovery time (RTO) and validate file integrity.
- Automate offsite, immutable data backup: The cornerstone of your resilience is offsite storage. Apply the 3-2-1-1 rule recommended by the ANSSI by storing a sealed copy in the cloud. By entrusting this flow to KiwiBackup, your data backups are encrypted at the source and hosted in ISO 27001 and HDS certified French datacenters, protecting you against any destruction or extortion.
Summary of security controls and frameworks
Technical measure |
Framework / Standard |
Direct impact on customer data |
|---|---|---|
MFA & RBAC segregation |
ISO 27001 / ANSSI |
Blocks unauthorized access through credential theft |
Zero-Knowledge encryption |
GDPR Art. 32 |
Makes data completely unusable if exfiltrated |
Awareness & patches |
IT hygiene |
Reduces the attack surface and software vulnerabilities |
KiwiBackup data backup |
HDS / ISO 27001 |
Ensures full restoration without paying a ransom |
Applying these 7 principles protects your reputation and your legal liability. By relying on KiwiBackup, you benefit from a sovereign, HDS and ISO 27001 certified partner dedicated to defending your digital assets.
FAQ: Protecting customer data in the enterprise
What are the legal obligations of Article 32 of the GDPR for customer data?
Article 32 of the GDPR requires ensuring the ongoing confidentiality, integrity, availability and resilience of processing systems. In particular, it requires the encryption of personal data, the means to restore availability after a technical incident, and a process for regularly testing the effectiveness of these measures.
What is the difference between ISO 27001 certification and HDS hosting?
The ISO 27001 standard certifies that a rigorous Information Security Management System (ISMS) is in place. HDS (Health Data Hosting) certification is an additional French regulatory layer that is mandatory whenever the hosted data involves personal health data. KiwiBackup holds both certifications to provide the highest level of security.
How do you prove to the CNIL that a cloud backup is compliant?
To prove your compliance during an audit, you must present the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), the data processing agreement (Article 28 of the GDPR), proof of encryption at the source, the location of the datacenters in France/the EU and your provider's certification attestations, such as those issued to KiwiBackup.
What should you do if customer data is exfiltrated despite your protections?
You must notify the CNIL within 72 hours of discovering the incident (Article 33 of the GDPR). However, if the exfiltrated data was encrypted in line with the state of the art (AES-256 zero-knowledge), it is unreadable to attackers, which may exempt you from informing each customer individually (Article 34).