The IT Nerd

Data Privacy Day is today. Led by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA), this event is a key part of a yearly global campaign focused on safety, security, and privacy. The theme for this year is “Take Control of Your Data.” It represents a worldwide endeavor to raise awareness about the significance of privacy respect, the protection of personal information, and the cultivation of trust.

Executives from Appdome, Datadobi, DH2i, Folio Photonics, Mission Cloud had this to say about this important day, and the incredibly important topic it represents:

Carl D’Halluin, CTO, Datadobi: 

“On January 28, we celebrate Data Privacy Day. Initiated in the United States and Canada in 2008 by the National Cyber Security Alliance, its aim is to raise awareness and promote privacy and data protection best practices. 

I would say the number one data privacy best practice is pretty simple: make sure you can get the right data to the right place at the right time. Wherever the data is in its lifecycle, it should be protected and only accessible as needed. Of course, this tends to be easier said than done. But, there is perhaps nothing more critical and imperative than implementing the right strategies and technologies to do so. After all, while data is an organization’s most valuable asset (in addition to its people), it also represents its greatest potential risk. 

Balancing these two aspects is key. In other words, effective data management enables you to optimize your business intelligence, make faster and smarter decisions, and gain a competitive edge, as well as better meet business requirements such as internal governance and legal mandates, external regulations, and financial obligations and goals.” 

Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder, DH2i: 

“Data privacy isn’t just important for businesses – it is a matter of corporate survival. A company can make just one small mistake, neglect one small security check-box, and the consequences can be catastrophic. One small mistake could lead to a data breach that causes legal and regulatory fines, as well as irreparable damage to the company’s reputation — a nightmare from which recovery is near-impossible.

A software-defined perimeter (SDP) solution could be the answer! Many SDP solutions are engineered to provide secure network connectivity across on-prem, cloud, and hybrid environments. SDP enables its users to transform their traditional network-based perimeter security with a more sophisticated one that creates micro-perimeters around data. SDP enables secure connections between data centers and across private and public cloud platforms without needing a VPN or direct connect, thereby significantly reducing security vulnerabilities even further. In addition, for those focused on data protection and privacy, SDP enables the ability to create secure tunnels for specific applications, as opposed to entire network access. Ideally, such a solution would be streamlined and straightforward to manage, equipped with an intuitive interface that eases the configuration, and ongoing management of secure connections. This combination — increased security, ease-of-use, and adaptability – makes SDP the ideal choice for protecting data and ensuring data privacy.”

Steve Santamaria, CEO, Folio Photonics:

“On Data Privacy Day, we are reminded of the business-critical importance of safeguarding sensitive information – both professional and personal – at a time when data breaches and cyber threats have become all too common. For data protection professionals, this should not be viewed as a gentle nudge but rather a polite – yet strong shove toward reviewing and fortifying the technology and policies that serve as the underpinnings of your data protection strategy.

How can anyone not admire those responsible for their organization’s data protection? As we in the business know – it’s no walk in the park! The good news is of course, that smarter and more powerful technology solutions continuously enter the marketplace, ready to take their place in the data protection professional’s arsenal. Active archives built on an optical storage foundation can offer an ideal data protection solution for several compelling reasons. Firstly, they provide a high level of security as data stored on optical discs is read-only, rendering it resistant to cyber threats like ransomware. Optical storage is also highly durable — able to withstand physical damage from factors like magnetic fields, moisture, and temperature fluctuations, ensuring the safety of critical data. What’s more, optical storage media boasts a long lifespan, making it ideal for data archival and compliance requirements while also being cost-effective in the long term. And last but certainly not least, it can be easily air-gapped – adding a virtually impenetrable defense against a cyber-attack. 

Retrieving data from optical storage is quick and reliable due to fast read speeds, making archived data readily accessible. And if that isn’t enough — it is environmentally friendly, consuming less energy and having a lower carbon footprint compared to alternative storage options.”

Alan Bavosa, VP of Security Products at Appdome:

In the spirit of Data Privacy Week, we should champion initiatives that prioritize security and resiliency.  

Protecting consumer data and privacy isn’t just about how a company uses their data internally or with partners, it is how it’s guarded from wider threats, such as cyber attackers. In fact, data privacy and cybersecurity are intrinsically interlinked – you can’t ensure consumer data is kept private if you don’t prioritize cybersecurity. And this includes the protections on a brand’s mobile app offering, especially as mobile stands as the dominant channel for people’s interactions, fueling criminals to eagerly infiltrate apps.  

If brands don’t pay attention to how they protect their consumers via mobile apps, they are putting themselves at a huge commercial and reputational risk as customers may leave. For instance, nearly three-quarters of global mobile consumers stated that they’d be likely or very likely to stop using an app and tell their friend to stop using it too following a data breach or if they discovered that it didn’t protect their data. 

Clearly, brands that do have privacy and security built into their mobile applications have a lot to benefit. Not only will it address cybersecurity fears and build consumer trust, but it will put them on course to comply with regulations such as DORA (Digital Operational Resilience Act) and NIS 2 Directives that both require cybersecurity resilience.

Ryan Ries, Chief Data Science Strategist at Mission Cloud:

Data Privacy is a very difficult topic to try and understand because there are so many rules and regulations that are constantly changing and are different state to state and country to country. People have to look at what kind of data they have and understand all the rules associated with it which is very time consuming and a serious endeavor. We often see customers that had this under control when they were a smaller company, but as they grow they have to really focus on ensuring they are doing the right things with the data and understanding what rules it falls under. There are so many different layers to data privacy and how you handle it, does it fall under PII, PHI or HIPAA? Do I need to worry about GDPR or data residency? There is a lot to consider and you need to be diligent that you are handling your data properly.

World Backup Day is today and it was started by a group of concerned internet users and tech enthusiasts in 2011. The initiative was led by Ismail Jadun, a digital strategy consultant from Ohio, and his friends. They were inspired to create World Backup Day after reflecting on the fact that many people were not backing up their data regularly, and as a result, were putting themselves and their organizations at risk. The first World Backup Day was observed on March 31, 2011, and since then, it has become an annual event that encourages people to take action to protect their digital estate.

Data loss can occur due to a number of reasons such as hardware failure, software corruption, malware attacks, natural disasters, and even human error. The amount of money that businesses lose due to data loss can vary depending on various factors such as the size of the business, the industry, and the type of data lost. However, studies suggest that the cost of data loss can be significant, with some estimates ranging from thousands to millions of dollars per incident. And one can imagine the devastating consequences if an organization like a hospital, emergency responders, or military agency lost access to critical data. 

Datadobi’s Carl D’Halluin, DH2i’s Don Boxley, and Folio Photonics’ Steve Santamaria had this to say about this important day and why it affects virtually every corner of the datacenter, across virtually every industry, around the world:

Carl D’Halluin, Chief Technology Officer (CTO), Datadobi:

“Failing to backup your data can have catastrophic consequences, as a single hardware failure, cyber-attack, or natural disaster can wipe out all your valuable information, leaving you with no way to recover it. This means that years of hard work can all be lost in an instant, with no chance of retrieval. Even the cost of losing just a portion of your important data can be immeasurable, with potential financial, legal, and reputational implications that can last for years. 

Identifying the vital data that requires protection should be the first step in the process. But even if you know and can ‘describe’ what data must be protected, finding it has always been another matter – and you cannot backup what you cannot find. To effectively address this enormous and complicated undertaking, users should look for a data management solution that is agnostic to specific vendors and can manage a variety of unstructured data types, such as file and object data, regardless of whether they are stored on-premises, remotely, or in the cloud. The solution should be capable of evaluating and interpreting various data characteristics such as data size, format, creation date, type, level of complexity, access frequency, and other specific factors that are relevant to your organization. Subsequently, the solution should allow the user to organize the data into a structure that is most suitable for the organization’s particular needs and empower the user to take action based on the analyzed data. In this case, backup the necessary data to the appropriate environment(s). And, if necessary, the solution should enable the user to identify data that should be organized into a ‘golden copy’ and move that to a confidential, often air-gapped environment.

To sum it up… Don’t let the nightmare of data loss become your reality – always backup your data.”

Don Boxley, CEO and Co-Founder, DH2i: 

“World Backup Day is an annual event that is intended to raise awareness of the importance of data backup and protection. It serves as a reminder for individuals and organizations to take proactive measures to safeguard critical data against unexpected incidents that can result in data loss, such as hardware or software failure, cyber-attacks, natural disasters, and human error. And, while the exact cost can vary depending on factors such as the size of the organization, the type and amount of data lost, the cause of the loss, and the duration of the downtime, according to various studies, it can cost organizations upwards of billions of dollars each year.

That’s why, for systems architects and IT executives alike, zero is the ultimate hero. And to achieve it, they are taking a multi-pronged approach to data protection. To achieve zero downtime, zero security holes, and zero wasted resources, they are also layering-on smart high availability (HA) clustering and software-defined perimeter (SDP) technology that enables them to securely connect and failover enterprise applications — from anywhere, to anywhere, anytime.

On World Backup day and all year long, it is critical to remember that businesses that invest in data protection are better equipped to navigate unexpected data loss events, maintain regulatory compliance, and protect their critical assets and reputation. Bottom-line, investing in data protection is not just smart, it’s essential for business success.”

Steven Santamaria, CEO, Folio Photonics: 

“The world’s most valuable resource is data, and it is of utmost importance to properly store, protect, and preserve this resource. The safekeeping of data is essential because it represents the foundation upon which many modern businesses are built, and its loss can have far-reaching consequences for organizations and individuals alike. As such, ensuring the safety and longevity of data should be a top priority for any entity that relies on this precious resource.

On World Backup Day, we are reminded of this, and the criticality of backup as one of the key safety nets against data loss, whether it’s due to technology failures, cyber-attacks, or human error. 

Today, I would offer that the most effective data protection strategy should also incorporate a data storage platform that can be securely archived in an off-site location, with the added benefit of being taken off-line and air-gapped for even greater security. This means that the storage platform is physically separated from the main network and disconnected from the internet, making it highly resistant to cyber-attacks and other forms of data breaches. In essence, a well-designed data protection strategy should prioritize both physical and digital security to safeguard critical data and ensure business continuity.”

Molly Presley, SVP of Marketing at Hammerspace:

“The coming year will be about automation to help identify and protect data assets.  Human-managed processes are challenging to scale as the number and variety of data-creating devices continually increase.​​ As a result, setting data protection services at a global level that automatically apply policies that meet corporate governance compliance requirements will be increasingly important. 

Automation will include identifying newly created data on any infrastructure in the global data environment, automating controls on data copy creation, and automating data services to ensure global protection on any infrastructure. “ 

 Darren Yablonski, Senior Director of Sales Engineering leading teams in Canada, U.S. and LATAM at Commvault:

“As the sophistication of cybercriminals has changed over the last few years, so too has data protection ­­— significantly. In the past, cybercriminals would typically gain access to an organization’s data and encrypt it so employees could no longer understand it, rendering it useless to the business. This is why ensuring you have a secure copy of your data is so important. With a spare dataset to restore, business can continue as usual. 

Lately, cybercriminals are increasingly moving from encrypting the data, to instead holding it for ransom and threatening to publish it. This has much broader consequences, including reputational damage as well as possible loss of competitive advantage as your customer and company data could be available to the entire industry. As a result, organizations should consider changing their approach to data protection. 

Gone are the days when it was enough to just backup your data. Organizations need to prevent cybercriminals from accessing systems to begin with by leveraging, for example, an early detection system. Cyber deception can give companies the upper hand and put them one step ahead of any potential attackers. Decoys are deployed to throw attackers off course and instead draw them to artificial assets instead of legitimate ones. The minute an attacker enters the decoy IT environment, the organization is notified so it can act immediately and isolate the asset. With response time significantly reduced, cybercriminals are far less likely to get into any real systems. 

Backups will always remain important, because unfortunately the worst can always happen — from a natural disaster that destroys your servers to a cyberattack. However, in the face of the sophisticated cybercriminal, it’s vital to have a proactive approach to data protection in tandem with traditional reactive methods.”