Written by:
Anne Gotay 2021 has already been a hectic year. The rise of ransomware and supply chain attacks reminded us that a crisis doesn’t daunt cybercriminals. Hopes of a post-pandemic reopening gave way to ever-shifting expectations and broad acceptance of telework. And cybersecurity topics like privacy, data security, and preventing ransomware garnered increased attention worldwide.
This year has seen a significant increase in ransomware attacks. Threat actors grew more shameless, auctioning victims’ data and demanding more ransom in exchange for not leaking data. Data exfiltration has become a powerful weapon for ransomware gangs. This indicates the increased focus on data as the cybercriminals’ primary target.
Data-centric security is a key trend for 2021 and beyond. It prioritizes protecting the data by setting data security as the focal point for all organizational security programs. This doesn’t mean omitting or overlooking networks, servers, and applications; instead, security is applied to these areas intentionally and with purpose, improving data protection. A data-centered approach ensures high-impact security decisions that increase all security by design rather than incrementally or incidentally.
“Data sharing, by organizations, is one of the key areas of vulnerability. This activity is an area that will be targeted more and more by hackers,” stated Purandar Das, Sotero Co-Founder, and President. “Even if the data is secure during transmission, the underlying data is in clear text. True and complete data protection has to be built from the ground up. Regardless that the data is transmitted over a secure channel, data security has to start at the source. Meaning the data should be protected (encrypted) all the time, even in use.”
Data-centered security starts with identifying where all of the critical data resides. Once it’s identified, it needs to be classified for risk. This determines what security controls are required. These controls generally focus on access, encryption, and auditing to protect the data and guard against being disclosed or altered inappropriately.
Sotero explored this year’s data security trends and reviewed research from a variety of leading reports. The shifting cybersecurity landscape already reflects bits of our analysis for what lies ahead. We’ve published these results in a report, which is available now.
Our report focuses on 7 major mid-year security trends:
- The average total cost of a data breach has increased exponentially: Organizations need to take this into account when assessing organizational risk and the cost of implementing controls.
- There has marked increase in severity of breaches occurring: Breaches are more widespread resulting in greater downtime and loss of business productivity.
- Threat actors have made data their primary target: Breaches involving data have serious regulatory and compliance implications and severely damage organizational reputation.
- Cloud & IoT acceleration contributes heavily to data decentralization: When data moves to the cloud, tracking it and protecting it becomes more challenging, solutions need to protect data anywhere, anytime, and at scale.
- Technology adoption and application integrations are evolving faster than security advancements: Data-centric security keeps the data protected throughout its lifecycle across different applications.
- Compliance doesn’t equal security: Canned out of the box solutions may offer compliance but an effective security program requires tailored solutions to fit your organizational needs.
- Data-centric security is vital: Attackers are targeting data, implementing targeted access, encryption, and audit controls helps protect the data from inappropriate disclosure or alteration.
Learn more about the study methodology and research behind each of these trends — and how you can adopt a Data-centric approach to security — by reading the full report Data Security Market Trends: Evolution of Data Security