Cyber Defense eMagazine May Edition for 2022

The Land of Data-Centric Security: Before and After
By Andy Smith, CMO, Laminar
Data protection and cloud security have enterprises running around a giant hamster wheel. They know
that they are practically blind when it comes to where sensitive data is in the cloud and how well it’s
protected. Meanwhile, data protection teams are crying out for a way to gain a complete and accurate
view of their data. It doesn’t seem like such a tall ask, considering that data is at the center of cloud
transformation—no matter how you slice it. Yet, still, some companies are living in the renaissance period
of cloud security and blissfully unaware of their assets in the cloud.
Setting the Scene
If innovation were a Hollywood movie, data would be the lead actor. Data is inarguably the most critical
piece of the puzzle when it comes to innovation within the modern cloud-first enterprise. Most business
leaders have wrapped their heads around this concept and recognize the facts; they agree that: In order
to give my developers and data scientists the tools they need to innovate, our data must be democratized
and we must be able to support new applications on the cloud. While most businesses understand that
data is important, that it's critical to protect and that it is a source of differentiation, they often fall short of
understanding what exactly is involved in effective data security. Especially when it comes to sensitive
data stored in the cloud, many security teams are still in the dark.
This misunderstanding—or possibly misinformation—leads enterprise leaders to rely on traditional
methods of data security. Outdated technology hasn’t adjusted to the new cloud-native environment. This
means that data security and privacy workflows, reviews, committees and assessments are all manual.
Herein lies a tremendous growth opportunity.
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