The quickstart guide to information security for Atlassian users
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The quickstart guide to information security for Atlassian users
Dimitrios Sylligardakis
12 June 2024
8 min read
Dimitrios Sylligardakis
12 June 2024
8 min read
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Let's start with the basics: what exactly is information security?
Why is information security so important today?
What are some key information security measures for Atlassian users?
So, how does Upscale fit into this landscape?
How Upscale apps can help secure your data
Wrapping up
Discover how our Senior Product Marketing Manager, Dimitrios Sylligardakis, is thinking about information security and how it relates to the Atlassian ecosystem.
Information security is more important than ever. You probably hear that every year, so why the urgency today?
Well, data breaches are skyrocketing, compliance regulations are tightening, and your reputation is always on the line. These factors make robust information security practices not just a necessity, but a priority.
In this blog post, we'll explore why you need to build robust information security measures, highlight specific considerations for anyone relying on the Atlassian ecosystem, and show you how Upscale can help add a new layer of security to your data.
Ready? Let's dive in!
Let's start with the basics: what exactly is information security?
Information security, or 'infosec' for short, is all about how your organisation and teams protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of your data.
That could include anything from securing your customer records to keeping your company's secret sauce away from prying eyes.
Think of your information security practices like a digital castle guarding your most valuable assets.
Why is information security so important today?
Talking about security can sometimes feel like listening to a broken record, but its importance truly cannot be overstated. There's a reason why more and more organisations are investing heavily in their information security practices.
Let's break it down:
- Data breaches are on the rise: Hackers are everywhere, constantly looking for ways to steal or exploit sensitive information—especially in a cloud-first world. Research done by Apple found that "80% of data breaches involved data stored in the cloud, and ransomware attacks increased by over 70% in the first three quarters of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022." Your infosec practices are your first line of defence against these ever-present risks.
- Compliance is complex: Regulations like GDPR, HIPAA, FedRamp, FERPA, and SOC2 impose strict requirements on how companies handle personal data. If your organisation is in breach, you risk facing large fines—just like Marriott was in 2022 for a breach in 2018 for failing to adequately protect customer data, costing the company $18.4 million. Good infosec practices keep you compliant and ensure your company isn't the one receiving these hefty fines.
- Your reputation is on the line: A security breach can shatter customer trust and damage your reputation. McKinsey found that 87% of consumers would stop doing business with a company if they had concerns over its security practices. It's far better to invest in your infosec foundations upfront than wait for the potential consequences of not spending that time.
This may all sound scary—but it doesn't have to be!
You can take simple but effective steps to bolster the security of your data and drastically reduce the risk of breaches or leaks.
What are some key information security measures for Atlassian users?
Atlassian products like Jira, Confluence, and Bitbucket are the backbones of teamwork for countless organisations.
These platforms store a wealth of sensitive data—project plans, customer information, or even source code for your products. However, the default security settings across platforms like Jira aren't perfect and can expose your data to both internal and external risks if you don't know how to set them up correctly.
Here are some key measures to start with:
- Permissions and access: Carefully control who has access to information in your various Atlassian workspaces.
- Password management: Ask team members to always use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication.
- Stay updated: Install Atlassian security updates promptly to patch vulnerabilities.
I know these might sound basic at first—but building strong foundations is key to a robust information security system. Even as your security processes become more sophisticated, these foundational measures can't be forgotten.
So, how does Upscale fit into this landscape?
The best practices shared above are a great start, but you're looking for more.
That's where Upscale comes in.
We build apps that complement your existing security and compliance efforts within the Atlassian ecosystem and add an extra layer of security to your most important work platforms.
Think of us as the archers on that castle wall I mentioned earlier, protecting your castle from unwelcome intruders.
Can you give me a specific example of how an Upscale app helps with information security?
Let's say your company has multiple teams using Jira. You need to make sure that your attachments and sensitive information stored in custom fields in Jira are secure and have proper access controls.
Our app, Encryption for Jira, helps you protect your most important data with disk-level encryption, right inside Jira. Teams use it to:
- Protect their most important corporate secrets in Jira
- Secure classified information such as team members' Personal Identifiable Information (PII)
- Minimise the risk of incidents during data processing
- Securely protect sensitive content such as emails, tax information, or credit card numbers
No matter how sensitive your data is, you can be confident knowing it's safely secured under lock and key, only accessible to people on your team with the correct encryption key.
Wrapping up
Your Atlassian apps are the engine room of your organisation. Every team across different functions uses them to store valuable information and move projects forward.
But it's vital that you set them up for information security success. That means ensuring teams set up permissions correctly, use secure passwords, and keep the apps up to date.
If you want to keep things even more secure, you can look to third-party apps, such as Encryption for Jira, which add another level of security to your apps.
Want to learn more about Encryption for Jira and how it can help your organisation upscale your security practices?
Learn about the app and start your free trial today, or book a call with me to discover how Upscale’s apps can help your organisation and team level up your security!
Written by
Dimitrios Sylligardakis
Senior Product Marketing Manager
Based in London with a few cats and a small passion for Python automation, gardening, history, and econometrics (don’t ask). I’ve worked in marketing across multiple industries, with a constant focus on providing customers with the tools they need to solve their everyday problems.
Atlassian
InfoSec & Compliance