The risk of data theft -- here, there and everywhere

Protecting data in the past was comparatively easy. The key data that needed protection resided on large databases in a data center. Most of the mechanisms used to protect it took the form of perimeter security devices, such as firewalls and intrusion protection systems.

For a number of years, I was responsible for such a monolithic database, filled with millions of records of key consumer data. It all resided on disk arrays in two data centers. I made the data very difficult to reach from the outside world. While plenty of issues kept me up at night, losing data was not at the top of the list.

Today, the challenge of protecting sensitive data has increased exponentially. This has happened, to a large extent, because this data has been leaking out of the monolithic data center, and into the cloud, individual PCs and mobile devices. We can no longer protect it with a secure perimeter, because the perimeter for all intents and purposes no longer exists.

Read more at Computerworld