Infographics, group interviews with business leaders and subject matter experts, Data Protection 101 – our series of posts that help breakdown information security basics, and daily posts recapping the latest data protection news.

Even if you haven’t been following for long, hopefully, it’s clear that there’s no shortage of valuable educational content on Data Insider week in and week out.

A worldwide pandemic didn’t slow us down; we posted 251 blogs in 2020, including blogs on how to safeguard your organization’s intellectual property, the changing face of data breach laws, cloud security best practices, insider threat statistics, and the latest phishing, ransomware, and hacking campaigns.

Whether they wanted to brush up on cybersecurity basics or they were just getting started in their infosec careers, at the end of the day, readers of Data Insider flocked to our educational blogs more than any other in 2020.

Blogs on HIPAA compliance, how to avoid getting phished, and how to prevent a social engineering attack were some of our most read blogs last year.

Interested in learning what blogs were read the most? Read on:

1. What is Cyber Security? Definition, Best Practices & More

This blog, part of our Data Protection 101 series, was read more than any other blog in 2020. It's a straightforward primer on cybersecurity, including why it's important, the challenges associated with elements of cybersecurity - think network security, endpoint security, cloud security, etc. - and how to best manage cybersecurity through an assessment and mitigation plan.

2. What is SOX Compliance?

Yet another Data Protection 101 post, this one on how to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, or SOX, was probably the most popular with those in the financial services sector. SOX is centered on having the right security controls around financial data in place. It also breaks down why data protection and classification are key when it comes to preventing data egress and manipulation.

3. SaaS: Single Tenant vs Multi-Tenant - What's the Difference?

A surprise hit, this blog recaps the advantages of a multi-tenancy software as a service (SaaS) architecture. It also explains the differences between a multi-tenancy instance and a single tenant instance, including the benefits and drawbacks of both. SaaS has been a popular way for organizations to reduce overhead over the last several years; this blog should answer any questions you have about the difference between single-tenant and multi-tenant architectures.

4. Social Engineering Attacks: Common Techniques & How to Prevent an Attack

Our group interviews - this one on how to prevent common social engineering attacks included - are always chockful of insight. In this blog, 34 infosec experts highlight social engineering attacks and how organizations and their employees can prevent them. Think Facebook Messenger link scams, emails with personal information in the subject line, and voicemail phishing or vishing scams.

5. 101 Data Protection Tips: How to Keep Your Passwords, Financial & Personal Information Safe in 2020

Another extremely informative post, this blog counts down 101 data protection tips everyone can follow to better safeguard their data. There's guidance on how to secure your wireless network at home, enable remote location and device wiping on lost or stolen devices, and password hygiene.

6. What is a Health Information System?

A helpful if not 100% necessary blog for anyone working with healthcare data, this Data Protection 101 blog explains what a health information system, or HIS, is. It covers examples of these systems, like an Electronic Medical Record (EMR) or Electronic Health Record (EHR), along with benefits, and best practices.

7. What is the General Data Protection Regulation? Understanding & Complying with GDPR Requirements

The GDPR, the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation, has been in effect since May 2018 but is clearly still top of mind for some of our site visitors. This blog not only explains what the GDPR is but who's subject to complying with it, the penalties for non-compliance, who it applies to, the articles that pertain to security operations, and perhaps most importantly, steps to actually complying with the legislation.

8. What is HIPAA Compliance?

Another essential for healthcare professionals, this blog explains for the uninitiated what HIPAA - or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act - compliance is. Complying with HIPAA can help organizations avoid fines, bad press, and prevent sensitive patient data getting into the wrong hands.

9. Phishing Attack Prevention: How to Identify & Avoid Phishing Scams

In the vein of the social engineering attack prevention blog above, this blog does a great job sharing tips around how not to get phished. At this point, nearly everyone knows what a phishing attack entails, but this group interview takes it a step further, providing tips for phishing attack protection like using a phrase for a password, never sharing your email password, and using DMARC.

10. What is Data Classification? A Data Classification Definition

Last but not least, this blog provides a high level definition of data classification and why it's an important part of data security. The blog also gets into the types of data classification (content, context, and user-based) and steps for effective data classification.