Recently, Facebook announced a new initiative aimed at protecting how its users’ data is managed across its platforms: the Data Protection Assessment. The assessment consists of a questionnaire for apps that access advanced permissions and specifically focuses on how developers protect, share and use platform data.

Where would we be without our beloved Excel spreadsheets? Since Microsoft first launched its Excel spreadsheet software in 1985, it has grown to arguably become the most important computer program in workplaces globally. The spreadsheet has truly become entrenched in daily business processes as well as critical applications - but the million dollar question is - are spreadsheets secure? Unfortunately when it comes to spreadsheet security, with popularity comes complacency.

It’s no surprise that cloud adoption continues to be a major force impacting organizations today. A 2020 McKinsey survey indicated that many organizations saw several years worth of digital transformation take place in 2020. An IDG survey, which we referenced in our Securing Best of Breed SaaS Applications webinar, suggested that 95% of organizations expect to be partly or fully in the cloud by the end of 2021, with almost half the applications used by their workforce being SaaS or open source.

Before we zoom in on the problems with unstructured data in the finance industry, let’s take a step back and look at the massive proliferation of data in general. Did you know, around 59 zettabytes (ZB) of data – that’s 59 with 21 zeros after it – were expected to be created, captured, copied and consumed in the world, according to Global DataSphere from International Data Corporation ( IDC)? That’s a lot of data!

When businesses think about maintaining cybersecurity, the first thing that comes to mind is often endpoint and network security. However, web application security is becoming increasingly important. There have been numerous high-profile attacks on web applications in recent years; in 2020, for instance, the Twitter accounts of famous people were compromised as part of a bitcoin scam.

Cloud-based solutions are the holy grail for the modern day business. The convenience of being able to access enterprise data and tools any time, any place, and from any device has been a key ingredient for business success - particularly if you’re in the middle of a global pandemic. But, there are plenty of unspoken risks that come with the use of an always-connected workforce.

With work-from-home now the default mode in most industries, organisations and employees now have to access and transfer files across home networks and personal devices on a daily basis. Naturally businesses are concerned as leaked files can have serious financial and legal repercussions.