We are living in the era of the digital economy where companies are collecting and storing lots of valuable customer data on a daily basis. As it has turned out, data is an important input in the competitiveness, growth, and revenue generation for any company across industries. But every valuable resource has its vulnerabilities, and data is not left out in this unfortunate fact. A notable vulnerability of sensitive data that has left many IT departments scratching their heads is data breaching.

Over 90% of data breach is attributed to human error costing a company anywhere from $1.25 million to $8.19 million. Tackling cybersecurity does not only entail non-physical risks, but also includes an assessment of physical threats such as human, internal, and external hazards. Only then can an appropriate and effective security plan to dissuade hackers and thieves be devised.

Earlier this week, I heard a fascinating interview with the former Chief Information Officer of Equifax, Graeme Payne. If you are unfamiliar with Graeme, he was the scapegoat for the Equifax breach; described in Congressional testimony as “the human error” that caused the breach. Graeme, however, is a true gentleman who is very gracious about his situation.

In an age where businesses are relying more than ever on the rapid advancements in technology to drive innovation, strategy, growth and competitive advantage, it is clear the prevalence of technology is not slowing down. But the increase in new devices and systems that utilize connectivity, as well as the transition to the network of devices and systems that were traditionally air-gapped, brings with it an increased cybersecurity risk.

Security, privacy, and risk does not have to be scary… but with GDPR, CCPA, and organizations moving to a risk-based approach to security rather than focusing on only compliance, it has become a daunting challenge. What is typically at the heart of organizations? Data and information. The common denominator that makes security, privacy and risk more effective and dare I say, easier?….data governance.

It used to be that businesses needing their own large computer networks had to do everything themselves. They had to buy all of their servers, all of their networking appliances. They needed the physical space on premises for all of their datacenters, the HVAC people to keep everything cool, and the massive electricity bills to keep all of that going.

In a bid to entertain their customers, airports, coffee shops, shopping malls - and literally all public places- provide free Wi-Fi. And because the traffic in and around these places is exceedingly high, their Wi-Fi networks aren’t as secure as you’d imagine. For what it is worth, your privacy can never be sufficiently protected by a 5 or even 10-digit login password that you are given.

There are a number of smart devices becoming commonplace in homes around the world, leading us closer and closer to the reality of smart homes, or houses that depend primarily on interconnected smart tech. Heating, lighting, and common appliances like doorbells, alarms, and entertainment devices are now increasingly being designed to operate on the internet of things (IoT).

Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash Kubernetes (K8s) is an open-source system for automating deployment, scaling, and management of containerized applications. It has recently seen rapid adoption across enterprise environments. Many environments rely on managed Kubernetes services such as Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE) and Amazon Elastic Kubernetes Service (EKS) to take advantage of the benefits of both containerization and the cloud.

The cutting edge of cybersecurity is moving away from a reactive defense. Instead of analysts waiting for a threat to happen, they are proactively searching out attackers in their environment. Attackers are dynamic. They are always changing and improving their capabilities, which means that defenders need to lean in and adapt even faster to keep up. Proactive defense is about predicting, understanding, and preventing as many moves as possible that an attacker could make against you.