Photo: Tantek Çelik via Compfight
“Secure the data!” That’s the claxon call which every chief security officer (CSO) or chief information security officer (CISO) hears 24/7/365 coming from their CEO, their customers and their partners. In the 12th century AD, the methodology of choice to protect one’s data was to place it within the castle-keep behind high walls designed to withstand the attack from catapults and battering rams. Then along came the counterweight trebuchet, and the concept of defense in depth behind a tall wall was forever changed. These are the words I used back in November 2012 to open up my piece ” Christopher Burgess (Global) – “Secure the Data!” Big Data Analytics Can Help” and here we are some six months later and the landscaped has shifted a bit with respect to big data security, but what hasn’t changed is the oncoming need for analytic tools that can do real heavy lifting. No longer are petabytes the top end of the weight scale, companies are generating petabytes of data on the fly every day. We are heading toward the need to dance with zettabytes (as of April 2012, according to Wikipedia, no system can yet do the zettabyte shuffle).
In the Cisco Connected World Study which Cisco shared on 27 March 2013, they focused their efforts on Big Data, and how IT professionals across the world were preparing for the onslaught of bits and bytes, as more and more data is touched, stored, sorted, analyzed and utilized. Some interesting findings came out of the study. Two out of three IT managers say big data is key to their providing enhanced capabilities, and will be important for the next five years. What perplexes the IT managers the most? The internet of things, lightbulbs, clothes, doors, bags, servers, routers, laptop’s, key fobs are all being given IP addresses and communicating. They estimate, by 2017, over 1.7 billion machine-to-machine connections will exist. With respect to security, the number one question is my data secure? The question never changes, does it, we simply change the landscape around which this question is asked.
What is truly necessary, today as it was yesterday is –
- Know where your data is – especially the crown jewels
- Who is in the house? Anomaly detection
- Many hands make light work? Industry collaboration
We are all in this together. Rare is the company that is dealing with really large data sets, though many are architected to do so, the proof will be in the pudding of execution. And one of the primary issues which companies both large and small will face is the change in publicly acceptable norms on what constitutes private information. The aforementioned Cisco report provided a great infographic displaying the differences between generations. Buckle-up: 91% of millennials believe the age of privacy is over. 75% of Gen-Y’s have no confidence websites can protect data, and this does not deter their online behavior. Think about this from the perspective of Bring Your Own Device to work and the user, your employee, views privacy and security with an optic of “why?” It is there incumbent upon companies to educate their users as the “Why” privacy, security and safety are important to the company and to themselves and their colleagues.
We have our work cut out for us. Hail big data! Security is a must have, no option to demure.
Additional reading: Cisco’s Connected World Report’s findings.