With online threats continuing to mount and evolve, enterprises are seeking the necessary tools to detect, remediate and protect their data and overall infrastructure. In fact, according to Gartner, global spending on cybersecurity and risk management services is expected to exceed $150.4 billion this year – which is an increase of 12.4% from what was spent in 2020.
This increase in spending may be attributed to businesses that are still struggling to cope with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most organizations are continuing to operate with a remote workforce which is bringing new cybersecurity challenges that need to be addressed daily. The human element has often been considered as the weak link with regards to cybersecurity as cybercriminals prey on employees who are distracted or simply lack cybersecurity awareness training. This issue has been exacerbated as people are more vulnerable to cyberattacks when at home, away from corporate level cybersecurity controls. This, in turn, puts the data and systems they access remotely at risk. Furthermore, to maintain business operations, many organizations have migrated to or adopted cloud services and so the sensitive data that resides there requires dedicated security solutions. In fact, it was identified that cloud security was a top priority and the fastest growing segment of the 2021 budget at 42% ($840 million).
If the last 18 months have taught us anything, it’s that cybersecurity is no longer viewed as a checkbox exercise. In reality, the need for cybersecurity has never been greater because more businesses are adopting digital transformation initiatives, which is why these environments, and especially the data that resides within, need security.
Organizations have continued to operate throughout the pandemic while battling against possible data breaches and cyberattacks all while trying to meet the demands of regulatory compliance. Additionally, countries around the world are beginning to implement new privacy regulations, which is driving increased scrutiny on how companies use, store and secure sensitive data. Achieving compliance and investing in security has become necessary if organizations want to maintain trust and confidence from their customers that data is being correctly protected.
Therefore, data-centric security is a vital defense strategy that all businesses should adopt to secure sensitive data. In the likely event that a cybercriminal breaches the systems, the data would be obfuscated and be of no value or use to steal. This also means the company is still compliant with data protection laws and may even be out of scope for breach notification requirements.
As the news headlines continue to be flooded with data breaches and accidental exposures, the justification for needing cybersecurity will also grow. Many are seeing it as a return on investment that benefits the business financially and reputationally. Remember, we are now living in an age where encountering a cyberattack is no longer matter of 'if’, but ‘when’. Data-centric security is the best bet as it operates on the assumption that you've already been breached, you just don't know it yet.
