Best Database Security Solution

Aug 4, 2015

Today, data is under assault from within organizations and from outside. The risks are endless. Breaches can be caused by any number potential threats - outside hackers, accidental staff mistakes, abuse by rogue employees, sharing data with outside partners. And, the damage can be costly, damaging finances and reputations.

According to a report produced by Unisphere Research and sponsored by Oracle (“DBA-Security Superhero, 2014 IOUG Enterprise Data Security Survey”), database security has risen to a top business challenge and it is time for DBAs and security professionals to join forces to enforce data privacy, protect against insider threats, and address regulatory compliance requirements.

IT and data managers can play a vital role in enterprise security because more than anyone else, they are insiders with trusted status, they know where the data is stored, and how best to reduce or eliminate threats.

Two-fifths of the 353 respondents to the survey acknowledge they are not fully aware of where all the sensitive data in their organizations is stored. Those taking proactive measures to lock down data and render it useless to outsiders remain in the minority, and few have safeguards against accidental or intentional staff abuse.

According to the survey report authored by Unisphere analyst Joe McKendrick, more respondents believe a data breach is likely to occur than felt that way than believed so when the first study of this type was fielded in 2008. At that time, 20% of respondents predicted a breach to be likely while in 2014, 34% believe a breach to be likely to occur.

According to the survey, human error is seen as the greatest risk to enterprise data (81%), up 10% from last year (71%). That is followed the perceived risk of insider hacks (65%) up from last year (63%), and up from 2010 (57%). Additional risk is posed by abuse of access privileges by IT staff (54%) up from last year (48%), the report finds.

Databases are seen as the most vulnerable to security threats, with 58% saying this is where the greatest precautions need to be taken, followed by the network, then server and storage infrastructure.