CYBERSECURITY
Why is data security important?
Data security is the practice of protecting digital information from unauthorized access, corruption, or theft throughout its entire lifecycle. It’s a concept that encompasses every aspect of information security from the physical security of hardware and storage devices to administrative and access controls, as well as the logical security of software applications. It also includes organizational policies and procedures.
When properly implemented, robust data security strategies will protect an organization’s information assets against cybercriminal activities, but they also guard against insider threats and human error, which remains among the leading causes of data breaches today. Data security involves deploying tools and technologies that enhance the organization’s visibility into where its critical data resides and how it is used. Ideally, these tools should be able to apply protections like encryption, data masking, and redaction of sensitive files, and should automate reporting to streamline audits and adhering to regulatory requirements.
Business challenges
Digital transformation is profoundly altering every aspect of how today’s businesses operate and compete. The sheer volume of data that enterprises create, manipulate, and store is growing, and drives a greater need for data governance. In addition, computing environments are more complex than they once were, routinely spanning the public cloud, the enterprise data center, and numerous edge devices ranging from Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to robots and remote servers. This complexity creates an expanded attack surface that’s more challenging to monitor and secure. At the same time, consumer awareness of the importance of data privacy is on the rise. Fueled by increasing public demand for data protection initiatives, multiple new privacy regulations have recently been enacted, including Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA). These rules join longstanding data security provisions like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), protecting electronic health records, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), protecting shareholders in public companies from accounting errors and financial fraud. With maximum fines in the millions of dollars, every enterprise has a strong financial incentive to ensure it maintains compliance.
The business value of data has never been greater than it is today. The loss of trade secrets or intellectual property (IP) can impact future innovations and profitability. So, trustworthiness is increasingly important to consumers, with a full 75% reporting that they will not purchase from companies they don’t trust to protect their data.
Encryption
Using an algorithm to transform normal text characters into an unreadable format, encryption keys scramble data so that only authorized users can read it. File and database encryption solutions serve as a final line of defense for sensitive volumes by obscuring their contents through encryption or tokenization. Most solutions also include security key management capabilities.
Data Erasure
More secure than standard data wiping, data erasure uses software to completely overwrite data on any storage device. It verifies that the data is unrecoverable.
Data Masking
By masking data, organizations can allow teams to develop applications or train people using real data. It masks personally identifiable information (PII) where necessary so that development can occur in environments that are compliant.
Data Resiliency
Resiliency is determined by how well an organization endures or recovers from any type of failure – from hardware problems to power shortages and other events that affect data availability. Speed of recovery is critical to minimize impact.
Data security capabilities and solutions
Data security tools and technologies should address the growing challenges inherent in securing today’s complex, distributed, hybrid, and/or multicloud computing environments. These include understanding where data resides, keeping track of who has access to it, and blocking high-risk activities and potentially dangerous file movements. Comprehensive data protection solutions that enable enterprises to adopt a centralized approach to monitoring and policy enforcement can simplify the task.
Data discovery and classification tools
Sensitive information can reside in structured and unstructured data repositories including databases, data warehouses, big data platforms, and cloud environments. Data discovery and classification solutions automate the process of identifying sensitive information, as well as assessing and remediating vulnerabilities.
Data and file activity monitoring
File activity monitoring tools analyze data usage patterns, enabling security teams to see who is accessing data, spot anomalies, and identify risks. Dynamic blocking and alerting can also be implemented for abnormal activity patterns.
Vulnerability assessment and risk analysis tools
These solutions ease the process of detecting and mitigating vulnerabilities such as out-of-date software, misconfigurations, or weak passwords, and can also identify data sources at greatest risk of exposure.
Automated compliance reporting
Comprehensive data protection solutions with automated reporting capabilities can provide a centralized repository for enterprise-wide compliance audit trails.
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