How Big Data is used too enhance cybersecurity

Thursday January 23, 2020 0 comments Tags: Alex Mitchell, Big Data, cybersecurity

By Alex Mitchell

Marketing Manager

VPNpro.com

With cyber-attacks becoming increasingly sophisticated, there is now a clear need for businesses both large and small to take the necessary steps to protect themselves. 

Especially when you consider the fact that cloud services are incredibly popular nowadays, it’ll only be a matter of time before disaster strikes if the necessary precautions aren’t taken.

A Virtual Private Network (VPN in short) is often one of the best ways for businesses to secure a large amount of private data that they handle and store. But, in an age where cyber threats are lurking around every corner, additional security measures are most definitely required.

With that in mind, Big Data analytics have become increasingly implemented as businesses look for an effective way to handle large volumes of data efficiently, all while keeping it in safe hands.

The relationship between Big Data and cybersecurity

Over the last few years, mobile devices and wearable technology have enabled businesses to collect a great amount of data on their users. The problem is that hackers are continually coming up with new ways to get hold of personal information, which means that securing such data is a task that is often easier said than done.

This is where Big Data plays a huge role, as companies use it to combat against the constant threat of cybercrime. By making use of predictive models, statistical algorithms, in addition to other complex applications, Big Data enables businesses to stop a cyber attack in its tracks at the earliest possible opportunity.

Furthermore, according to a study involving participants including the U.S. government, a whopping 84% of respondents now make use of Big Data analytics in an attempt to prevent attacks from occurring. This just goes to show that businesses across the globe are recognizing the importance of using Big Data as part of their cybersecurity strategy.

Challenges of Big Data in cybersecurity

While it’s important for businesses to achieve sustainable growth and performance, it’s now absolutely crucial to implement preventative measures against cyber threats.

After all, sensitive information is ending up in the wrong hands on an all-too-regular basis, with potentially disastrous consequences occurring as a result.

However, the problem is that many companies do not have the staff capable of acting quickly enough.

This is mostly due to a skills shortage in Big Data analytics. In an effort to get around this, an increasing number of businesses are choosing to implement AI (Artificial Intelligence) and machine learning in order to streamline the data gathering process and achieve a more effective and efficient means of preventing any potential attacks.

Thankfully, AI and machine learning are becoming increasingly more reliable and affordable as the years go by. When combined with an increased awareness of big data analytics, this will mean that skills shortages in the data analysis department should no longer be an issue in the future.

Then, it will be far easier for cybersecurity personnel to act quickly in the event any cybercriminals make an attempt to expose any sensitive data.

Is Big Data good or bad for cybersecurity?

With businesses now having access to an incredible amount of user data in the current day and age, a way of processing this information efficiently is exactly what is required.

This is where Big Data steps in and plays a hugely important role, as it ensures that market trends, consumer preferences, and much more can be identified and analyzed thoroughly far easier than ever before.

Not only that, but Big Data also allows companies to contend with the ever-increasing threat of cybercrime. It does just that by operating in real-time and providing security alerts where appropriate. In turn, this allows businesses to act quickly in the event a cyberattack threatens to expose sensitive information.

However, unless businesses take the appropriate measures to perfect their cybersecurity strategy, the large amount of data generated daily could eventually find its way into the hands of online criminals.

For that reason, businesses need to step up their efforts in the fight against cyber threats or risk a potential catastrophe.

Overall, it’s clear that Big Data helps to drive businesses forward by providing insightful information regarding performance and growth. In addition to this, it’s clear that Big Data can help businesses to fend off any attacks before they actually happen.

Therefore, there’s certainly no doubting that Big Data could be hugely beneficial if implemented appropriately by a business.

In spite of this, it’s incredibly important for businesses to place a focus on achieving an optimal cybersecurity strategy. Otherwise, hackers could potentially exploit any vulnerabilities and gain easy unauthorized access to data, meaning that data breaches will continue to be an issue in the future.