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TRENDING
This is of particular significance – especially
in the UAE as government bodies and
public and private companies have started
investing in research and development
groups to maximise the benefits for the
region. Having said that, 27% still see the
disruptive technology as a threat within
the next year, highlighting the need for
organisations to improve their post-quantum
encryption strength.
Not all industries are embracing DX
at the same rate
The 2020 Thales Data Threat Report also
explores how government, financial services,
healthcare and retail sectors embrace Digital
Transformation and associated security
measures in varying degrees. Globally,
government and federal entities are leading
the way in DX, and Digital Transformation
(DX) initiatives are forecast to increase at a
CAGR of 17.6% in the MEA region over the
2019 to 2023 period.
However, globally, 52% of government
respondents have experienced a data
breach or failed compliance audit this year.
In efforts to secure citizen and resident
data, governments in the Middle East have
digitised identification documents which
carry biometric details, biological features
and user data.
Respondents from financial services
experienced the highest data breach
at 54%. Respondents from retail and
healthcare industries followed suit at 49%
and 37% respectively.
Key takeaways for improving
data security
Data security is challenging, but across Big
Data, IoT and containers, encryption is a key
driver for adoption and usage. Based on this
year’s findings, security professionals should:
• Invest in modern, hybrid and multi-cloudbased
data security tools that make the
shared responsibility model work
• Consider a zero-trust model to secure data
• Increase focus on data discovery solutions
and centralisation of key management to
strengthen data security
• Focus on the threat vectors within
their control
• Utilise encryption to remain vigilant
against today’s data risk reality
“As organisations face expanding and
more complex cybersecurity challenges
because of multi-cloud adoption and Digital
Transformation, they need smarter and
better ways to approach data protection,”
said Frank Dickson, Program Vice President,
Cybersecurity Products, IDC
“Zero trust is a fantastic initiative to
authenticate and validate the users
and devices accessing applications and
networks but does little to protect sensitive
data should those measures fail. Employing
robust data discovery, hardening, data
loss prevention and encryption solutions
“
AS
ORGANISATIONS
FACE EXPANDING
AND MORE
COMPLEX
CYBERSECURITY
CHALLENGES
BECAUSE OF
MULTI-CLOUD
ADOPTION
AND DIGITAL
TRANSFORMATION,
THEY NEED
SMARTER AND
BETTER WAYS TO
APPROACH DATA
PROTECTION.
provide an appropriate foundation for
data security, completing the objective of
pervasive cyber protection.”
Tina Stewart, Vice President of Global
Market Strategy for Cloud Protection
and Licensing Activity at Thales, added:
“The Thales 2020 Data Threat Report-
Global Edition clearly demonstrates that
unprecedented amounts of sensitive data
are being stored in multi-cloud environments
by organisations all over the world.
“Having the right cloud security in place has
never been more critical. As 5G networks
are rolled out, IoT continues to expand
and quantum computing creeps closer to
becoming a reality, organisations must
adopt a more modern data protection
mindset. The first step towards protecting
sensitive data is knowing where to find
it. Once classified, this data should be
encrypted and protected with a strong multicloud
key management strategy.” •
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