To understand the value of data, we need to agree on what data is. There’s an easy answer: everything.

All information (personal or corporate) that passes through a communication system is a link in the data chain: business contacts, technology, strategic watch, … Data is part of a company’s assets.

This « data» asset must be managed and protected from attempted theft, resale to competitors, or public disclosure.
All data security breaches mean financial loss and damage to the organization’s brand image.

Data is everywhere, scattered around and in very large quantities: every action generates data.
Every email, every file contains data that is sometimes sensitive.

Over the past few years, there has been an inordinate inflation of data volumes. A company’s servers and workstations are universe unto themselves.

This in turn means that monitoring location and access to such a treasure trove of data is becoming increasingly complex.

« Being the first to know has always been a decisive advantage, whether in politics or in war. Obviously, the more relevant the data is to the context, the greater the benefits for the person who has it. Nowadays, this is especially true since the time data is valuable and valid has considerably shortened, what was relevant yesterday won’t necessarily be relevant tomorrow. » (Wikipedia)

So how much is an item of data worth?  ? It all depends on the nature of the data:

To see the value of this « data» asset, we can start with a simple question: what happens if we lose it?

If the most confidential data (or access to it) is lost, there is extensive damage.

The first problem is that working becomes impossible – at least until the backups are restored. If the backups are unusable or take too long to apply, the company will have no other option than to cease perating

Another consequence? The company’s brand image and credibility will be severely damaged. Not to mention the criminal proceedings if sensitive information has been leaked.

Loss of access to data assets is often unintentional (theft of a terminal, cyber-attack, etc.), but sometimes it’s organized by malicious third parties: disgruntled former employees, hackers, hostile competitors or even foreign governments, from whom the data must be protected.

There are many security solutions that protect access to data and prevent its exfiltration. However, with new vulnerabilities being discovered every day, the most effective solution is to protect all data by default, at its very core.

As theft or hacking can never be ruled out, the data must be rendered unusable for unauthorized accesses.
Systematic encryption is the solution. We don’t manage access to the data, but the right to understand and use it.

An encryption solution must be global and end-to-end, and above all transparent (users don’t notice that their content is encrypted and their work habits aren’t changed). 

This true digital lightning arrestor doesn’t protect from malicious intent, but prevents the use of content.
It lets the data sleep in a safe place.

A parallel could be with the protection of banknotes stored in ATMs: if the ATM is broken into or its safe opened by thieves, a dose of indelible ink is sprayed on the stored banknotes to stain them, making them unusable.

When it comes to data, this principle is applied by making it unusable in cases of theft: namely, making sure that even if there is an unfortunate or malicious data leak, no one else can read it, understand it, let alone use it.

So, what could be simpler than adopting a global principle: “Encrypt everything, everywhere, every time”. Useless to others, the data will only be of value to you and you alone.

Photo by Nadjib BR on Unsplash