With the growth of IOT devices and the switch to cloud computing and BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) frameworks, it seems companies are generating more data than ever! Allied Market Research reports an 11.6% compound annual growth rate from 2024 to 2033, with the big data and business analytics market valued at $225.3 billion in 2023 and $665.7 billion by 2033. Companies rely on information systems solutions to protect their data and identify critical sources. Effective data management is challenging for IT teams and security specialists as the volume of data generated each day grows exponentially. Many organizations are now considering and implementing solutions allowing edge devices (edge routers, firewalls, and IOT devices) to process data at the network edge. As such, the edge analytics market is expected to grow to $41.75 billion by 2029, with an Annual Compound Rate of 24.64% as these solutions gain popularity.

Data Discovery: A perspective to Consider
IT consulting firms and security specialists offer data protection solutions, but the increasing volume of data has led to a shift in the methodology security specialists employ to manage their data. This has led to an overhaul in data management as with all this data at our fingertips, it stands to reason that companies will now depend heavily on sound information systems solutions that will not only protect their data but discover what data sources and what data needs to be protected the most. Remember, not all data generated is necessarily useful data, a password and a person’s timesheet don’t hold the same weight from a business perspective and that’s why data classification is key here. Global technology leaders like Thales and CrowdStrike are incorporating data discovery and classification into their cybersecurity solutions to not only protect your data but to help you sort and categorize your data so you can rest easy knowing the data being protected is high-quality and up to date.

Data Governance and You
Thales’ CipherTrust Data Discovery and Classification solution offers real-time dashboards, a central platform for data management, and helps organizations understand their security risks, reducing redundancies and improving compliance with their data. Compliance is key here now more than ever as the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its latest Cybersecurity Framework (CSF 2.0) which incorporates identifying data sources in its five-pillar approach to lowering cybersecurity risks (NIST, 2024). The five-pillar (Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond, and Recover) framework requires that “Representations of the organization’s authorized network communication and internal and external network data flows are maintained” (ID. AM-03). To meet this requirement and stay compliant, organizations must be able to properly map their data flows and manage their network environments both internally and externally. In simple terms, NIST now requires that companies put greater controls on their data flows both within the organization as well as between that organization and third parties. Another control speaks to the classification of data as well as the maintenance and sanitization of data stores. (ID.AM-07). Locally, companies now must adhere to the Data Protection Act (DPA) that was established by the Jamaican Government in 2020, where it requires data controllers to be transparent and fair about the data being collected from persons utilizing their services as dictated in clause 9 (Jamaican Paliament, 2020). Personal Data should not be retained longer than needed in compliance and accordance with any regulations under the Act. Compliance here is integral to avoid adverse financial penalties not exceeding 4% of the annual GDP of the company or up to six months imprisonment (Commissioner, 2023).

Security and Business Benefits
Although it seems like a great amount of work for data analysts, the long-term benefit is undeniable. Incorporating discovery and classification into an organization’s data security solutions not only assures compliance but also ensures that the data protected is accurate, usable, and easily accessible. This can greatly benefit customer-facing companies such as hotels or hospitals that handle large amounts of data every day or Fintech companies that serve thousands of clients as these sectors are often fast-paced. If you’ve ever stayed at a hotel or visited a hospital before, you know front desk storing your reservation/appointment where it can be easily found makes a world of difference when checking in or checking out, it is also imperative that all the information about you is not only secure but accurate. From a business perspective, this is also a game-changer as this accuracy means little to no redundancies which means a reduction in data storage overhead especially if the company uses an IaaS provider such as AWS or Microsoft Azure where you Pay-as-you-go. What this all means is that robust data security strategies present companies with a variety of benefits that will ultimately optimize their efficiency and shrink their overall operational expenditure as it relates to their data.

As cybercrimes and data theft become more prevalent, analyzing and categorizing data sources could potentially save billions of dollars in data loss and revenue. Data privacy should always be a proactive approach rather than a reactive one and with sound data discovery and classification strategies, CTOs and cybersecurity teams can rest easily knowing that their data is safe, compliant, and secure. These targeted solutions that classify and sort data also allow for faster response times and higher precision in pinpointing breaches (Thales, n.d.). By utilizing solutions that incorporate discovery and classification, managers who act as key decision-makers can also depend on this sorted data to make strategic decisions that will have higher gains and lower risks. If the data is accurate, compliant, and consistent, then plunders relating to critical tasks like capital expenditure, client services, and meeting deadlines are less likely. Not only does this spell good business sense but it also adds to the company’s reputation to its consumers and competitors.

We’re reminded of the critical importance of safeguarding personal information in an increasingly digital world. Whether you’re an individual, a business, or part of a community, everyone has a role to play in protecting data and ensuring privacy. Part of protecting that data is knowing what it is you need to protect, using cybersecurity tools that incorporate data discovery and classification poses many benefits for any data security posture. Tapping into these tools and educating yourself on the role these tools can play in protecting and safeguarding your data is indeed the first step to a safer future for you and your business.

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