Jenn Yonemitsu

Data is at the heart of every agile organization. It helps companies make better decisions, improve customer experiences,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datastax.com/2019/08/are-you-ready-for-your-chicken-sandwich-moment">ensure optimal inventory levels</a>, and pivot when market trends shift.

At the same time, data can&nbsp;devastate&nbsp;organizations when it’s not secure.

According to IBM-Poneman’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.darkreading.com/attacks-breaches/with-data-breach-costs-time-is-money/d/d-id/1335336">2019 Cost of a Data Breach Report</a>, the average data breach cost $3.92 million last year. In the U.S., the problem is even worse, with an average breach carrying a $8.19 million price tag.

Beyond financial implications, breaches can generate a ton of negative PR and damage brand image. Depending on how severe the attack is and how quickly and effectively you respond, breaches can also result in significant customer churn.&nbsp;

Suffice it to say that the shrewd move is to do everything you possibly can to protect yourself from cyber attacks that expose your data and lead to damaging consequences.&nbsp;

Security isn’t just about protecting your network and keeping infiltrators out. It’s also about protecting your data—and that starts at the data layer.

<h2>A layered approach to security</h2>

Due to the way they scale, most distributed databases introduce additional attack surfaces and methods, like node impersonation attacks.&nbsp;

A layered approach to data security helps protect distributed data and reduces the risk of a data breach.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datastax.com/products/datastax-enterprise">DataStax Enterprise</a>&nbsp;includes advanced security options that allow for different levels of security provisions and access points.

From the outset, we’ve prioritized data protection and security features. For example, our integrated, feature-rich security solution,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.datastax.com/products/datastax-enterprise-advanced-security">DataStax Enterprise (DSE) Advanced Security</a>, shipped beginning with DSE 3.0. This security suite is more than a mere add-on. It’s a robust toolkit that includes authentication and authorization frameworks, SSL to secure communications, transparent data encryption for data in transit and at rest, auditing, and more.

We’ve continued to stay on the forefront of security by expanding DSE Advanced Security with features like LDAP authentication, KMIP support for external key management, as well as role-based and row-level access control.&nbsp;

For us, security is much more than just a buzzword. It’s a mindset, a governing philosophy, a guiding northstar we keep top of mind with each new release.

<h2>Is your database secure?</h2>

Because there’s so much at stake, you can’t afford to take any chances when it comes to securing your data. All it takes is one unscrupulous actor exploiting a single obscure vulnerability in your architecture to do a lot of damage—crippling your organization at least for the near term.

That’s why you need to build your applications on top of a database you can trust. One that’s built by a team that lives and breathes security and works hard to help you protect one of your most valuable assets: your data.&nbsp;

Check out <a href="/resources/whitepaper/how-secure-your-data-defense-depth-strategy">this white paper</a> to learn more about how DataStax keeps your data secure—even as technologies change and business needs a shift.

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