The Definitive Guide to Data Protection Brochure forcepoint.com forcepoint.com Definitive Guide to Data Protection Landscape Overview In some ways, the relationship between data security and business performance is a tale as old as business itself. After all, the very simplest form of competitive edge is a business’ ability to keep its “secret sauce”—be it a proprietary process, critical intellectual property, or even a literal recipe—off the streets. But today, the issue is infinitely more complex. It’s estimated that 90 percent of the world’s data was created in just two years.1 To compound that effect, the proliferation of mobile devices, far-flung client and contractor relationships, remote and roaming employees, and more means that data is stored and accessed in more places, by more people—at any time. On the heels of this shift in data’s role in the workplace, high-profile data breaches have helped make a new business case for data security. The financial impact is one factor, of course; the average cost of a data breach is $3.26M.2 But, in less cut-and-dried terms, data security incidents can do critical damage to a company’s brand and the trust of its customers. Heavily regulated industries such as healthcare and financial services have long been under a legal mandate to secure sensitive data. More recently, however, heightened public scrutiny and awareness of data security has helped to spur new legislation targeting how businesses can collect, process, and store data. Malaysia’s Personal Data Protection Act, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the Australian Privacy Principles, California’s Consumer Privacy Act—the list goes on. And it’s enough to make any organization—whether it’s subject to current regulations or not—think critically about data protection. $3.26 Million 2,600-10,000 Average cost of a data breach2 Number of sensitive records lost in an average breach2 90% It’s estimated that 90 percent of the world’s data was created in just two years.1 68% Percentage of data breaches that go undiscovered for months2 Amid all this, one thing has become clear: Empowering companies and employees to perform in today’s business environment demands a shift in how we think about data security. In the constant state of change that has become our new normal, reactive policies are no longer enough to keep us safe. Let’s explore how to take a proactive stance on data protection—and why it’s the safe choice for businesses today. 2 forcepoint.com Definitive Guide to Data Protection Elevating the Role of Data Security For many data security teams, days consist of cycles of receiving an alert, investigating it, and repairing the damage. Rinse and repeat. The problem? Inflexible policies frequently flag low-risk activity, resulting in “false positive” alerts. Investigating these places an immense burden on data security teams who already have more tasks and responsibilities on their plates than they have the bandwidth to fulfil. Data protection technology that can read into the context surrounding cyber activity can lessen this burden for data security teams, helping them to focus their investigations on incidents which are truly threatening and filter out those that don’t pose a real risk to the business. And, by prioritizing their time more judiciously, this allows a security team to evolve its role within an organization from one that simply enforces rules to one that proactively leads the business forward toward a safer, more efficient future. Empowering Professional Growth Data security experts who are not overrun with false alerts have the ability to coach and mentor other employees, contributing to their professional development and career trajectories. Empowering Business Growth Security professionals who are able to find efficiencies in their own workloads can help pinpoint opportunities for the business to grow through smarter usage of data. (Or, raise flags about data behaviors that may impede business growth.) Empowering Digital Transformation Streamlining investigations based on contextual understanding of data incidents allows teams time to optimize their policies and procedures to suit a cloud-powered data culture—enabling faster digital transformation and competitive advantage for the business. 3 forcepoint.com Definitive Guide to Data Protection Protecting Data Everywhere Work Happens Traditional data loss prevention safeguards data at three access points: on your netw