Introduction: Locked and Loaded, A Decade of Data Security Trends

There is one thing that has not changed in the last ten years in data security…and that is security professionals are still kept up at night by something. That something is the harsh realization that security is not Boolean. You can never say that you are secure, because what is deemed secure today is not secure tomorrow.

Think back to the security systems in place ten years ago, try to reconcile them with the threats that exist in today’s world. Certainly none would pass modern day scrutiny and no one would endorse them to provide adequate security. The threat vectors contributing to those sleepless nights have become far more sophisticated over the last decade;  security professionals are forced to grapple with incredibly complex scenarios as well as computing systems that now extend up… into an environment known best as “the cloud”.

Although security was more centralized ten years ago, trends were moving quickly to a more decentralized model. However, most experts agreed that the perimeter of the corporate network, whether physical or virtual, was a safe place. Everyone was focusing on the network perimeter and making sure that it was fortified and able to keep threat vectors at bay. You could almost hear the mantra… thou shall not penetrate the inside of the network. The good news? If you were inside the network, then you were most likely trusted.

What will follow over the next two weeks is a five part series on the past decade of data security trends.  Each blog entry will focus on one topic – such as regulation and compliance, data exchange, approaches, constraints and more.  Stay tuned for "Part One: Regulation and Compliance, A Driving Force".