Growing Enterprise Data is Creating Big Cybersecurity Risk

Buzz about big data permeated tech conversations in the mid-1990s, but people today don’t talk as much about big data anymore. It’s not that data isn’t big. Data is bigger than ever, and it continues to grow. Estimates suggest global data creation will exceed 180 zettabytes by 2025.

It’s just that data has now permeated essentially every aspect of how we live and do business. Data on factory floors, streets and highways, point-of-sale terminals and elsewhere are helping drive business transformation and growth, fuel innovation and create competitive advantage.

Wherever connected devices are present, data is at work or at the ready. It’s just a fact of life.

So perhaps it goes without saying that data is big. But it is critical to acknowledge and address the big cybersecurity risk that data creates for businesses. Part of the challenge is that data now lives here, there and everywhere. That makes it more complex than ever to manage and secure data, and easier than ever for bad actors to access, manipulate and hold data for ransom.

A look at the numbers highlights the massive challenge enterprises face in securing their data:

– Ransomware cost victims $20 billion in 2021, according to Cybersecurity Ventures, which expects enterprise damages from ransomware to surge to $265 billion annually by 2031.

– As artificial intelligence (AI) and GenAI tools empower bad actors to launch phishing attacks and expand their reach, ransomware attacks between 2022 and 2023 doubled.

– There was a 64% jump in ransomware claims in 2023, Insurance Journal reports.

• Meanwhile, the average cost of downtime across industry verticals has gone from $5,600 to $9,000 per minute, according to a 2023 report – and that doesn’t even include the additional customer impact, company productivity and employee turnover costs.

The bottom line is that more enterprise data creates both more opportunity and bigger risk.

Traditionally, enterprises protected themselves in the same style that medieval warriors used – by fighting off marauders before they could penetrate the castle’s perimeter. But with data and devices now everywhere, hybrid IT environments both on premises and in the cloud, and today’s distributed workforce, the perimeter has disappeared.

All of that makes data management and security more complex and enterprise data more vulnerable. And it calls for enterprises to use the technology and deep experience in cybersecurity, data and enterprise IT that’s now available to better understand their data and the threats to that data, and to shift from a reactive to a proactive cybersecurity posture.

The first step in making this shift is to identify your data assets, who has access to them and the risk that presents. This will help your organization to determine what data is mission-critical and the level of investment you should make to store and protect your various data assets.

Because data lives everywhere, work with an expert to create a data protection modernization strategy that strengthens your operational resilience from edge to core. That should include implementing a reliable, secure data infrastructure spanning clouds and data centers, branch offices, and user devices like laptops and smartphones – wherever your associates use them.

Employ technology with the ability to create immutable, point-in-time copies of your data. This will help your business to recover rapidly if you are hit with an attack in which your data is deleted or changed. With an immutable snapshot of your data, restoration is fast and simple.

Be aware that bad actors are now targeting enterprise backup data in addition to production data. So, be sure that your cybersecurity and resilience efforts also cover your backup data.

Cyberattacks are increasingly using AI to target your data. But you can use AI to fight back! Continually monitor for malware with the help of AI. This will allow you to identify threats much faster so you can investigate and contain those threats, decreasing the possibility of widespread damage. With AI, you can also leverage what you learned from past security incidents to predict and prevent future threats. Additionally, AI can work to anonymize your sensitive data so that you can use that data for analytics while staying in compliance with data privacy regulations.

Data security, resilience and compliance aren’t a one-and-done endeavor, and they can’t wait. It’s essential to continually evaluate and adapt your cybersecurity strategies to effectively mitigate evolving threats and safeguard your enterprise data in today’s dynamic landscape.

Get started now, remain vigilant and focus on continuous improvement. Modern technology is critical to do that, but it’s just part of the solution. Work with a trusted ally to bring together the right technology, people and processes to decrease your risk and strengthen your business.

About the Author

Octavian Tanase is Chief Product Officer at Hitachi Vantara, which is transforming the way data fuels innovation. A wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd., Hitachi Vantara provides the data foundation the world’s leading innovators rely on. Through data storage, infrastructure systems, cloud management and digital expertise, the company helps customers build the foundation for sustainable business growth.