Written by:
Anne Gotay In the ever-evolving landscape of cybersecurity, there’s a hidden threat that many organizations overlook: shadow data. This unseen menace can pose significant risks to your organization’s data security posture, and understanding its implications is crucial for maintaining robust data protection. This article is meant to shed light on shadow data, its potential risks, and how organizations can effectively manage it.
What is Shadow Data?
Shadow data refers to the information assets within your organization that are not easily visible or controlled by your IT department. This data can reside in various places, such as cloud storage, network repositories, and even in structured data assets. It can include anything from sensitive customer information to confidential business documents.
The challenge with shadow data is that it often exists outside the purview of traditional security measures. This lack of visibility and control can lead to unauthorized access, data breaches, and non-compliance with data protection regulations.
The Importance of Locating and Protecting Shadow Data
The risks associated with shadow data are significant. Unauthorized access to sensitive information can lead to severe financial and reputational damage. Furthermore, non-compliance with data protection regulations can result in hefty fines and legal consequences. Locating and protecting shadow data should be a priority for all organizations, especially mid-sized ones with limited information security resources. By identifying and cataloging these hidden data assets, organizations can ensure they are adequately protected and compliant with data protection regulations.
The Role of Data Security Platforms
Data security platforms play a crucial role in discovering, classifying, and protecting shadow data. These platforms can scan entire repositories for hidden data stores and assets, identifying and cataloging sensitive data. Once cataloged, these assets can be provided with persistent protection and security. Moreover, advanced data security platforms have the unique ability to process streaming data, including new files, for sensitive data as it is being ingested. This real-time protection ensures that your data is secure from the moment it enters your system.
Defense in Depth: A Comprehensive Approach to Data Security
A defense in depth approach to data security involves multiple layers of defense to protect your data, ensuring that even if one layer is compromised, others are still in place to keep your data safe. This strategy is effective in providing comprehensive visibility into your data assets, including shadow data, empowering organizations to take control of their data security.
The Future of Data Security
The future of data security lies in comprehensive data protection, cost efficiency, uninterrupted business continuity, stakeholder trust, regulatory compliance, and scalability. Organizations need to detect and stop cyber threats quickly, ensuring seamless business operations without compromising user experience.
Get Your Data Out of the Shadows
Shadow data is a hidden risk that organizations cannot afford to ignore. By understanding what shadow data is, its potential risks, and how to effectively manage it, organizations can enhance their data security posture and ensure robust data protection. The first step in securing your data is understanding where it resides. Don’t let shadow data put your organization at risk. Take control of your data security today. To learn more about how Sotero can help you uncover and protect shadow data, contact us today.