Data X-Ray's Relevant Role in Data Risk Management

Data breaches have seen a 15% increase in cost over the past three years, with an average cost of $4.45 million in 2023, according to IBM's Cost of Data Breach 2022 Report. The report also highlights that companies are extensively relying on security AI and automation, which save an average of $1.76 million compared to those that do not.

We know data breaches can occur due to minor errors, like sending confidential information to the wrong recipient, or more severe issues, such as cyberattacks. This underscores the importance of effective data storage and management.

Understanding Data Risk Management

A process employed by organizations to neutralize vulnerabilities, secure sensitive information, and maintain data governance. Data Risk Management includes processes and procedures to make sure data is acquired, stored, processed, transformed, and used in a way that mitigates potential risks. It involves assessing vulnerabilities, determining risk levels and implementing countermeasures.

The Significance of Data Risk Management

Unsecured data can result in costly data breaches, leading to substantial financial losses and severe operational disruptions. This includes direct and indirect costs, such as repairing IT infrastructure, expenses related to leaked assets, increased manual efforts, and data center downtime.

Leaving your data vulnerable not only risks potential revenue loss but also erodes trust among your customers. Data exposure or corruption can have far-reaching consequences on various aspects of your organization, including reputation, competitiveness, and employee privacy.

Securing your data through robust Data Risk Management Solutions offers several advantages:

• Holistic Data Insight: Analyze and correlate data from diverse sources for deeper insights and risk identification.

• Risk Identification: Find and address potential vulnerabilities like data loss with departing employees and accidental file sharing.

• Granular data classification: Categorize data based on its sensitivity and implement robust security controls for each level. Employ encryption for highly confidential information, access restrictions for sensitive data, and stronger authentication methods for critical systems.

• Data anonymization and pseudonymization: Where possible, remove personally identifiable information (PII) from data to minimize privacy risks and unauthorized access. Leverage privacy-enhancing technologies like redaction to further safeguard sensitive data.

Types of Data Risks

1. Data Loss in Repositories: Data, scattered across various repositories, is susceptible to loss due to accidental deletion, system crashes, or inadequate backup strategies. Comprehensive backup and recovery plans are essential to mitigate this risk.

2. Low Data Integrity and Authenticity: Documents and media files can be altered or tampered with, compromising their trustworthiness, especially for legal and compliance purposes. Ensuring data integrity is crucial.

3. Sensitive Information Exposure: Data often contains sensitive information, such as personally identifiable information (PII). Insufficient data security measures can lead to unauthorized access or data leaks, potentially resulting in costly legal battles and severe damage to an organization's reputation.

4. Lack of Unstructured Data Analysis: Extracting meaningful insights from unstructured data can be challenging. Implementing tools and techniques for unstructured data analysis, including file access and activity monitoring, can provide insights into origin, lineage, and context for full traceability.

5. Latent Dark Data: Latent dark data, collected and stored but not actively used or analyzed for an extended period, can pose hidden risks. Periodic evaluation and analysis of latent dark data are essential to uncover potential insights, compliance challenges, and security vulnerabilities.
   

Managing and Securing Your Data: A Two-Phase Approach

Effectively managing and securing your organization's data requires a two-phase approach: discovery and assessment followed by protection and remediation. This combined strategy ensures both proactive data governance and efficient risk mitigation.

Phase 1: Discovery and Assessment

1. Data discovery: Begin by scanning and analyzing all data stored within your organization. Review and assess your data, considering factors like completeness, consistency, accuracy, and security.

2. Sensitive data exposure: Automate categorization and remediation of sensitive information, including personal, financial, and proprietary data. Employ encryption, data masking or revoke access to exposed data.

3. Data quality evaluation: Assess the quality of data, taking into account factors such as completeness, consistency, accuracy, and security. This step enhances visibility into your data estate and provides insights into data access and usage.

Phase 2: Protection and Remediation

1. Incident Preparedness: Utilize enriched metadata and file monitoring capabilities to meticulously map and track data. This strategic preparation facilitates the rapid identification of vulnerabilities and minimizes the impact of data-related disruptions.

2. Data Resilience: Establish clear retention procedures to streamline data management and reduce the attack surface. Implement comprehensive data backup and recovery plans to ensure that critical data is regularly backed up or masked.

3. Access Controls and Data Governance: Govern who can use, what data, when, and for what purposes. Grant users only the minimum level of access required to perform their duties, significantly reducing the attack surface and potential damage from compromised accounts.

4. Continuous Monitoring Early Risk Detection: Establish ongoing monitoring and utilize advanced anomaly detection, often powered by artificial intelligence, to analyze data and identify abnormal behaviors that may indicate potential risks.

In conclusion, safeguarding your organization's data is not a one-size-fits-all endeavor. The value of your data transcends its role as an asset; it can also become a significant liability if not handled with precision.

To effectively manage data risks, you’ll need to adopt a proactive and multifaceted approach. A strategy that encompasses in-depth data understanding, meticulous classification, and unwavering commitment to robust security measures.

But you don't have to navigate this complex journey alone. Our solution, Data X-Ray, is your steadfast ally in the realm of data risk management. With its user-friendly interface, you can confidently navigate the intricate terrain of unstructured data security in our ever-evolving digital landscape.

Don't wait; fortify your data defenses today with Data X-Ray. Act now to prevent financial losses, safeguard your reputation, and ensure uninterrupted operations.