Is an approach to security that focuses on the security of the data itself rather than the security of networks, servers or applications.
The scope of data-centric security is to protect data at the source, using all the security concepts that have evolved over time and apply them for data protection purposes.
Data-centric security is evolving rapidly as enterprises increasingly rely on digital information to run their business and big data projects become mainstream.
What is Data Centric Security?
Today, IT security no longer means just protecting the perimeter and infrastructure, but protecting the data itself. This includes the protection of data in files and application fields.
Moreover – the protection of data must remain economical while not preventing the business processes or limiting the functionality of the applications.
Data that you share both internally and externally (including with trusted partners) should always be proactive protected.
You should Protect the Data BEFORE sharing it and if possible with dynamic rights controls, like for example:
- the ability to change the access rights you gave AFTER sharing the data
- the the ability to remotely revoke access to any copies of a file/group of files/emails you shared
- the ability to remotely revoke access to any data that was leaked
By far the biggest Data loss occur via someone sharing unprotected Data: unintentionally (typo email address) or maliciously (by a co-worker/ consultant/ partner) by then the event has already happened and you will be too late to do any remediation.
Start NOW to proactively protect your sensitive data by adopting a strong security control, a technology that will keep you and your company safe!
Challenges
As a security professional, are you confronted with a constant “data chase” reality of data flowing from devices to on-premises apps, from the cloud to business partners, presented with a myriad of technical, legal, and process controls to secure data based on its infrastructure or location?
Do you struggle with:
Deciding what to protect
Determining the correct rights & policies to apply
Updating rights when roles change
Making sense of audit and telemetry data
The future work space is even more reason to protect your “Data” no matter where it is created, hosted and shared.
The Growth of Data is Exponential
Data is growing faster than ever. Organisations must classify data by risk and ensure that the data (both sensitive and personally identifiable information) is protected with appropriate security technologies and strategies.
Lack of visibility on what data is being created, where it resides, and who has access to it.
Organisations need to create a map of the environment where in which their data lives, what users can do what, where data is created, what it contains and is used for, how it moves from user to user, etc.
Compliance with government standards
Organisations must comply with laws like GDPR, HIPAA, PCI, and CCPA.
Cost of Maintaining Data Privacy
A data breach can cost organizations millions of dollars in lost revenue and will also have reputational consequences and enormous legal repercussions- if an organization is breached, they face intense regulatory penalties from different entities.
The Number of Open Vulnerabilities
The rapid increase in vulnerabilities has led to a record-breaking number of data breaches. For the security teams, it can be challenging to manage literally thousands of patches released each year, so having an established patch management process in place it becomes critical.
Human Error
Common everyday human errors can significantly affect organisations data privacy and protection, being considered maybe the biggest challenge in data privacy and security.
How can this technology help you?
Discovery and Classification
The ability to know what data is stored and where; after discovery, all data must be classified - an effective data classification must be automatic and based on specific rules relevant to the data and their flow.
Manage
The ability to define access policies that will determine whether certain data is accessible, editable, or blocked from certain users or locations. Identity and access management (IAM) is essential for data security. The identity of a user, along with information about their device, application, service, network location, and so on, can help ensure that data access is granted strictly on a need-to-know basis.
Protect
The ability to defend against data loss or unauthorized use of data and prevent sensitive data from being sent to unauthorized users or locations. When data is no longer under your direct internal control, it must always be encrypted to protect against unauthorized access. Encryption helps protect data against unsanctioned users and can also prevent authorized users from accessing the data in insecure or unauthorized ways or places. Data masking is another useful technique; hides sensitive data that a certain recipient is not authorized to see. It’s also important to implement Data loss prevention (DLP). DLP solutions can protect data — no matter where it exists or how it is used — from leaving the protected perimeter, based on the criteria you specify.
Governance and Compliance
The ability to permanent monitor the data usage to identify significant deviations from normal behavior that would indicate a possible malicious intent.
A robust data-centric security strategy also requires strong data governance.
To secure your data, you need to be able to track who is accessing it and what they’re doing with it, with all the essential details about when the access took place and where it came from.
Advantages
Provides Security for Data at All Times In This Digital Age
Protection tools as masking or encryption protect sensitive data, including personal information for individuals and enable businesses to receive benefits such as a boost in return on investment, increase investors confidence, improved customer loyalty, and more efficient operations.
Part of Compliance
Many industries have strict compliance requirements to help protect sensitive and personal information stored. HIPAA, FIPS, GDPR and other regulations rely on security methods such as encryption, masking to protect data and achieve comprehensive security.
Avoiding Fines
The technology helps you make sure your company is compliant with all the legal requirements and allows you to avoid unnecessary fines and legal headaches.
Reduced data maintenance costs
For example, by following the GDPR’s mandate to keep your data inventory up-to-date, you can significantly reduce the cost of storing data by consolidating information that is present in silos or stored in inconsistent formats.
Better decision-making
Using data security technologies, your organisation’s data will become more consolidated, ensuring that your data is easier to use and you have a greater understanding of its value. By using customer information effectively, your organisation will be able to make better decisions and get a better return on its investments.