Brent Hansen | Federal CTO
It’s Valentine’s Day. Chocolates. Romantic dinners. Little conversation hearts with affectionate messages. A special gift for someone special. Or if we flash back to high school, maybe even, a game of Truth or Dare.
But in the data-security world, we might play “Truth or DAR,” as in data at rest. (And please pardon my pun.)
Here is a “Truth” about “DAR:” There is no silver bullet for securing all of your agencies’ data. There is not a single vendor or product on the market that can provide A-Z data security.
Another truth is that, based on the results of the our recently launched 2019 Thales Data Threat Report-Global Edition (our federal edition is coming soon), protecting DAR is the most effective way to protect sensitive data. However, these same agencies continue to throw money at perimeter defense. Moats can defend castles; there is no disputing that. But if moats and walls were 100 percent effective, we’d still be living in the middle ages.
Encrypt Everything?
We hear about encrypt everything, both commercially and federally, but can that really happen? Is it possible? Is it practical? Where would an Agency even begin to encrypt all DAR?
We at Thales Defense and Security argue that encrypting everything is an emerging best practice for enterprise-scale organizations, and encrypting all DAR is not only possible but the most practical approach to federal agency and enterprise data security.
Here is the approach I suggest for encrypting all DAR:
- Encrypt every server with Thales’s Vormetric Transparent Encryption with access control and monitoring on premises, hybrid cloud and cloud;
- Keep the keys “centrified” and own your own key lifecycle management;
- Encrypt your data without taking it offline, using Thales Live Data Transformation; and
- Schedule key rotation (no maintenance window)
Throw this encryption safety net across your agency’s data and the data will defend itself!
So, now that I’ve answered our “Truth or DAR” game with some important security “Truths,” I hope you will dare to encrypt all of your DAR.
Happy Valentine’s Day
Please visit our website to learn more about how we help Federal Government Agencies and the firms who work with them protect sensitive information and prevent data security breaches.