Data Cybersecurity
Data is born in silos but is most valuable when shared across multiple departments, presenting companies with increased risks in cybersecurity.
A data silo is a collection of information in an organization that is isolated from and not accessible by other parts of the organization. Removing data silos can help you get the right information at the right time so you can make good decisions. And, you can save money by reducing storage costs for duplicate information.
How do data silos occur?
Data silos happen for three common reasons:
- Company culture: Often departments are siloed from each other, especially in larger companies. Sometimes this occurs because there is internal competition, but often it happens because one department sees itself as separate from another and doesn’t consider where information should be shared.
- Organizational structures: Unless an organization specifically works to integrate different departments, it’s easy to build layers of hierarchy and management that deter departments from sharing information.
- Technology: It’s not uncommon for different departments to use different technology, making it difficult for the departments to share common information. For example, maybe the Sales team uses Salesforce, but the Marketing team doesn’t have this tool. Yet, it might contain valuable information that the Marketing team could use. An IT survey showed that most companies have between 1-200 applications for their different departments. Consider how unwieldy it can be to find information when you have so many different sources.
In information-centric industries such as Financial Services, Retail, Tourism, and FMCG, competitive advantage is obtained through data – so it is vital that data is shared daily and quickly.
These industries also happen to store large amounts of Personally Identifiable Information (PII). Rapidly sharing PII across multiple departments, and sometimes with third parties and business partners, leads to one thing: more risk of a data breach. The more important data is to a business, the more important data security must be.
Cheers!
Dan Duran – CTO – Rhyno Cybersecurity
About Rhyno Cybersecurity
Here at Rhyno, we work seamlessly with company leaders and their staff, helping to bridge internal divides that can weaken an organization’s security framework.