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Cybersecurity Awareness Month - Expert Commentary
October 2023 by Rehan Jalil, President & CEO at Securiti
This year marks the 20th annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month, initially launched by the Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance to ensure organizations and consumers are ready to take on the cybersecurity landscape. I wanted to reach out to share some thoughts from Rehan Jalil, President and CEO at Securiti, for your use in any relevant stories.
This year’s Cybersecurity Awareness Month focuses on the idea that ‘it’s easy to stay safe online,’ reminding individuals that there are different methods to protect personal data from cyber threats across digital environments. Reinforcing your organization’s cybersecurity foundation for corporate data has never been more crucial, yet many continue to find themselves with increasing silos that can disrupt the way sensitive data is handled.
Amidst the implementation of new technology – like generative AI – the escalating frequency of cyber breaches, the increasing complexities of multi-cloud environments, and the constantly evolving data privacy regulations, an advanced data security solution is critical to protecting the “crown jewels” - sensitive and personal data. Establishing an optimal security posture goes beyond firewalls, anti-malware and infrastructure protection - it must also have a data-centric lens. This requires a deep understanding of the entire data environment, data flow patterns, access governance policies, and configuration vulnerabilities.
Traditional discovery and classification tools are grappling to keep up with the explosive growth of data in the cloud, resulting in inconsistent data classification outcomes across architectures and teams. A holistic data security solution, with DSPM functionality, offers a strategic and efficient solution to address these concerns minimizing potential risks. It encompasses comprehensive discovery of data assets, including shadow and dark data assets, efficient identification and classification of sensitive data through machine learning and natural language processing, resolution of misconfigured data assets, and the provision of insights for secure data access policies.
As we are reminded of the critical need for data security, it is essential to reevaluate the security, compliance, governance, and privacy of sensitive data in tandem. By implementing a solution capable of comprehensive discovery of data assets, organizations can establish a resilient defense against escalating data threats in our increasingly digital age.
