Fake data - new product 'booming'

World security experts have come up with a new security 'tip' against data theft: disguised with fake 'true' data.

Dangerous everywhere

As soon as it was released, fake database systems quickly became a security industry phenomenon when consecutive orders flew back because it hit the directors' long-standing obsession. information in most business organizations: Crime of intruding from outside to steal data and 'digest' information of internal employees.

This new security measure is given the name " data masking " by the IT industry. These masks are fake but can still operate and interact 'just like the real thing' and become a shield for real databases before a series of attacks and theft. The data mask is so perfect that it is unbelievable that the internal staff and the outside hackers can assume that what they steal is fake.

A recent survey by security research firm Symantec said that more than half of the former employees admitted they had "vaulted" the company's data before quitting with devices such as memory sticks. USB, two-thirds of them passed the boss. The consequences of data theft are also becoming more and more severe. According to statistics from Ponemon Institute, the average value of each data theft is about $ 6, $ 3 million or about $ 200 for each data file. " That's the price of security ," said Gordon Caines, a market expert at Camouflage Software.

" The most important point of 'data masks' is that it will help businesses forget the fear of stealing from their own employees, " said Joseph Feiman, a security expert with market research firm Gartner. , " The attacks are coming from outside. That's true but they also appear from the heart of every company and it's terrible that this type of attack is getting worse ."

Fake data, real money

" If you can see them, you can also steal them ," DataGuise, a vendor that provides' speech masks', ' But if that database is protected by a layer. Other data, your programmers can still work on it, test new products or even disappear with it that leaders don't need to worry about . '

But these fake data are not as cheap as many people think. Each contract to install fake data layers usually costs at least $ 200,000 and if applied to an entire large business, the cost can be up to $ 1 million. So far, only about 3-4 companies provide this service such as Princeton Softech (bought by IBM), Camouflage and Informatica (both based in California - USA). DataGuise has the most 'soft' selling price with only about 50,000 per contract.

Although expensive, the market for this service has increased rapidly. Gartner's Feiman expert has estimated that sales of fake data vendors will reach about $ 10 million this year, not to mention the accompanying survey and consulting costs. 1 year ago, the revenue of this service is still zero.

Not only are IT businesses trusting, the fake data installation service is also contributing to changing the state or even federal regulations on data security requirements in the United States. The Association of American Credit Card Issuers (PCI), the Association of Health Insurance Companies, has launched its member companies to apply this security technology as a security measure. The best news today.