These processes, says the unstructured data storage specialist, include how the soldier who stole the data had access to such sensitive data in the first place, and how digital collaboration has increased to the point where these incidents will likely become commonplace unless root causes are identified and addressed.
According to Yaki Faitelson, the firm's CEO, organisations are becoming significantly more collaborative.
"As a result, data is more widespread and vulnerable than ever before. For organisations to prevent loss of sensitive data while still enabling the collaboration needed to conduct business, they need to ensure that they have processes and automation in place for authorisation and review of access to data, monitoring who is using data, and identifying sensitive data that is at risk”, he explained.
Faitelson says that unstructured and semi-structured data on shared file systems, NAS devices, SharePoint sites and Exchange mailboxes, are a challenge to manage for any organisation.
The challenge is made more difficult, he argues, by the fact that it is highly dynamic and growing by about 50% each year in most organisations.
"Another issue is that the relevance of data is constantly in flux, changing far faster than each user's access rights. Users are often able to download or edit data they no longer need access to long after a project finishes or their role has changed," he says.
A key part of the solution to these issues, he adds, is the metadata – data about data (or information about information) – and the technology needed to leverage it.
"Each file and folder, and user or group, has many metadata elements associated with it at any given point in time – permissions, timestamps, location in the file system, etc. – and the constantly changing files and folders generate streams of metadata, especially when combined with access activity", he says.
"These combined metadata streams become a torrent of critical metadata. To capture, analyse, store and understand so much metadata requires metadata framework technology specifically designed for this purpose", he adds
Faitelson went on to note that, as the WikiLeaks fiasco has shown, it only takes one rogue staff member – or a malignant individual – to access and copy a set of critical data files for the entire security system, and the integrity of the organisation, to be severely compromised.
Staff collaboration, he says, is why the data is open to begin with. But using manual methods to secure data in this era of digital collaboration is asking for trouble.
Against this backdrop, the Varonis Systems CEO says that organisations have to be aware they no longer have to manually manage permissions to ensure that only the correct users have access to the right data and that their permission can be revoked when they no longer need them.
"The previously impossible is now possible through the intelligent use of metadata and data governance automation. The instinctive reaction of many to these WikiLeaks is to try and lock down all data. That is not only impossible, it is unnecessary if you use the right technology", he adds.