Big data risks

As interest in big data projects grows, the need to make sure all that data is protected and secure is increasing, as well.

28% of respondents say they now have more than a year of experience working with big data repositories; 38% are in various early adoption stages.

A full 73% cite the need to make better business decisions, followed by gaining greater insight into customer behavior, at 61%.

43% are ready to implement some form of big data security. In general, they report that there is increased spending on data security at their organizations.

A full 73% say data security concerns thwart or delay initiatives frequently or sometimes.

A high percentage of respondents employ multiple tools, including network monitoring (82%), data encryption (80%), access controls (79%), perimeter controls (69%), volume and file encryption (63%) and data masking (43%). Yet only 47% are confident all their sensitive data is secure.

Annual audits (42%), automated tools (29%) or ad hoc audits (14%) are relied on most to assess data security risk.

Although 62% say their companies have passed their audits, 11% have failed. Another 20% don’t know if they have failed an audit.

While 80% say their IT teams have access to sensitive data, another 40% say development and test teams also access that data. Another 29% say it is available to end users.

A full 88% say the IT security team would be held responsible for a data security breach. Just 47% think the CEO/board of directors would be held accountable.