I recently had the pleasure of reading Francis Odum's comprehensive research on the evolution of cybersecurity and the growing importance of data-centric security. His thorough analysis highlights a critical inflection point in cyber – one where traditional perimeter-based approaches are giving way to data-centric security strategies.
Francis captures how the proliferation of data, rise of generative AI, and increasingly stringent compliance regulations are forcing organizations to fundamentally rethink their security architectures. His research makes a compelling case that data itself has become the new perimeter, requiring us to shift governance and control closer to the data itself rather than focusing purely on identities, endpoints, networks, and applications.
However, while Francis's research is exceptionally well-documented, it tells only half the story of modern data security. His analysis focuses primarily on “defensive strategies” – discovering sensitive data, classifying it appropriately, and protecting it from accidental loss or theft. He rightly highlights innovative companies like Cyera that are helping organizations better understand and protect their ever expanding data assets.
But there's another equally important side to data security that deserves attention: enabling secure data sharing to drive business value and innovation. In today's interconnected business environment, organizations must not only protect data but also safely share it with partners, customers, and stakeholders to achieve their objectives and create competitive advantages.
This "offensive" strategy is where open standards like Trusted Data Format (TDF) and platforms like Virtru become critical. By embedding granular policy and access controls directly on to the data object itself, organizations can confidently share sensitive information while maintaining precise control over how that data is used, for how long, and by whom. This capability transforms data security from a pure risk mitigation exercise (defensive motion) into a business enabler (offensive motion) that drives collaboration, accelerates innovation, and creates shareholder value.
Francis is absolutely right that we need a comprehensive, holistic approach to data security. But that approach must balance both defensive and offensive capabilities. It's not enough to simply discover, classify, and protect data from breaches and leaks – we must also enable its secure use and sharing with third-parties to drive business outcomes.
The future of data security isn't just about building better walls – it's about building better bridges. Only by mastering both, defense and offense, can organizations truly unlock the full potential of their data while ensuring its protection wherever it may reside, whether in your possession or not.
What are your thoughts on balancing defensive and offensive data security strategies? I'd love to hear your perspective in the comments below.
