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Thales Blog

Countdown To RSA!

February 4, 2014

Screen Shot 2014-02-04 at 8.44.51 AMEveryone in the security industry is gearing up for RSA at the end of this month and Vormetric is no exception. We are busily preparing to showcase our solutions on Big Data, Database and File encryption, Cloud, Security Intelligence and Access Controls at RSA 2014.

In looking over the conference agenda yesterday, I saw a topic spread designed to provide a "little something" for just about everyone. Interested in hearing about security controls that can read your mind, profile your cognitive traits, project your intentions and anticipate your moves? RSA has you covered. Want to discuss how we can close the cyber security gap by creating public/private partnerships that enable the sharing of threat information in real-time? There's a session on that as well. Want to participate in the conversation around how mass data collection should change and the resulting implications for intelligence, privacy and national security? RSA is the place to be.

What caught my attention though, were the word clouds that RSA developed. Each year, RSA creates word clouds based on all the speaking abstracts received. These word clouds capture the major words/phrases in those submissions and provide a great picture of what's top of mind that year. Here is a "side-by-side" look at the 2013 and 2014 word clouds. (FYI, the size of the words indicates their importance; the bigger words are the ones submitted more frequently.)

2013 word cloud2014 word cloud

 I found it striking how much the term "Data Attacks" has grown over the past year. Data attacks are clearly seen as a huge issue, and the increase in the term "Risk" is also worth noting. I think these two terms have gained such prominence because everyone — enterprises, service providers and government agencies alike — now understands that they're vulnerable to both APTs and insider threats. No one is immune.

My fervent hope is that the industry in general is coming to the realization that the best way to thwart data attacks and reduce business risk is to take a data-centric approach to security, one with security intelligence baked in.

The evidence all around us should tell us these three things: 1) attackers and their methods are getting more sophisticated every day; 2) privileged insiders like Edward Snowden can easily become dangerous "frenemies" capable of taking down even the largest organizations; and 3) targeted, advanced attacks require sophisticated solutions that work from the "inside out" to protect sensitive data.

If you're going to be at RSA conference in San Francisco Feb. 24-28 and would like to talk with me or someone else on the Vormetric team about your security issues and concerns, please drop by one of our two booths (South Expo Hall #515 and North Expo Hall #2614). And, if you do stop by either booth, you'll be entered to win a fighter jet flight (the real thing, not just a simulation). You can also hear our CSO, Sol Cates, give an eye-opening presentation at the Solutions Center on February 26 at 2:40pm titled: Are Your Privileged Users at Risk or a Risk?

I look forward to seeing you at RSA!