YAWN!!! NOT ANOTHER DATA BREACH?
I am not a happy person writing this and neither should you be if you are taking the time to read it. Another day yet another data breach. It's happening on such a ridiculous scale these days (ahem... Experian), the rate at which value is being wiped of stock prices is going to cause a bigger global economic downturn than anything we ever saw in the apocalyptic scenario experts predicted in 2008. The stock market is based on confidence so what kind of confidence does yet another leak of 15 million people's personal records instil into the public consciousness?
At HANDD we have been banging the drum about Data Classification for a number of years now. I recognised years before the market started to make a move that Data Classification would become THE first step of any successful security strategy. So many of our clients too have embraced this vision and have implemented classification solutions that have leveraged existing technologies, streamlined business practices and overall reaped massive benefits from this forward thinking wisdom.
"How can an organisation begin implementing data security without understanding the sensitivity of the information it is handling?"
Such is the scale of the data that organisations now deal with and the impending changes to Data Protection Laws there is a rush like never before spanning all verticals for organisations to get a handle on this problem.
Enterprise organisations have typically approached large auditors and wasted vast sums of money just to be told they have a security issue with no real way of addressing the core problem. This is why at HANDD we are seeing more and more large enterprises are getting directly in touch with the "experts" and not their traditional channels.
I cant stress the importance of Data Classification enough, how identifying sensitivity and how discovering exactly what it is you value the most will drive your security strategy for the next 3-5 years. Data Classification would have prevented this latest breach and protected 15 million T-Mobile customer records. Data Sensitivity should dictate security, not the process or the mechanism by which we consume it. Who creates the data? The end user! Getting the end user on board is a vital step that is one part of a Data Classification project. They are your eyes and ears on the front line.
Implementing Data Classificaiton successfully can streamline existing Security practices and leverage downstream technologies, freeing them up to do what they do best.
To discover more about HANDD and how I can help your company implement a security strategy to take you forward over the next 3-5 years feel free to reach out to me directly or visit www.handd.co.uk
Kind Regards,
Danny Maher
Chief Technology Officer
HANDD Business Solutions
Hi Tony Nesterov, That's great and I really commend your organisations thorough response, but I hope you forgive me when I say in the eyes of those affected it would have been (in hindsight) much better if preventative action rather than reactive action was taken. If you private message me we could certainly set up a discussion on how to take steps to ensure this never happens again. We know how hard it is as we are dealing with a huge amount of Global Enterpises such as yourself who face similar issues and concerns. We have helped them better understand their risks, best security practices and worked with them to develop a better and more robust all round security strategy. Feel free to contact me and I'd be happy to discuss in more detail if you wish. Danny.
Commercial, Marketing, Digital, E-commerce & Strategy | #MakeThingsHappen
10yDanny, thanks for sharing this. Here is how we’re trying to help anyone impacted: ex.pn/security