Data Security Index

Trends, insights and strategies

to secure data
 October Data Security 2
2023 Index

Foreword

In a time being defined by a surge of data, it has become increasingly

clear that an organisation’s data is nothing less than its lifeblood.
The wealth of data created and used by organisations powers critical
operations, informs strategic and global decision-making and shapes
the possibilities for their futures. Data is not merely a resource – it is
the beating heart of modern enterprises.

Yet, with this increased reliance on data comes the stark reality that
vulnerabilities in the digital shadows are real and quickly expanding.
Cyber threats, data breaches and insider risk incidents are no longer
rare occurrences; they are pervasive and escalating, posing risks
to organisations that depend on data. Of the decision makers we
surveyed recently, 89% said they view their data security posture
as critical to their overall success.

In this white paper, we embark on an exploration of that fundamental

imperative: the protection of your organisation’s data. My team and
I are excited to share our findings with you – and hopefully start
a dialogue around how to continue to push data security forward
collectively toward excellence. Our learnings exemplify how data
security is at a critical juncture – while security decision makers agree
it’s essential to the safety of their data, and most say they’re confident
in what they’re doing, they’re simultaneously experiencing a plethora
of data security incidents and challenges. And, 80% of the leaders we
spoke to recognise that a best-in-suite, integrated approach is
superior to point-solutions, but most companies are still using
a fragmented, multi-tool system to protect their data – which is
often resulting in more security incidents instead of fewer.

We welcome you to read and share this latest report and treat it as the
beginning of new conversations with our teams on how we can best
help secure our collective future.

Rudra Mitra
Corporate Vice President
Microsoft Data Security and Compliance
 October Data Security 3
2023 Index

Introduction

Preventing data breaches and other security

incidents continue to be a constant concern
for security and risk decision makers – and
a cornerstone of any cybersecurity program –
because a single breach can cause significant
reputational and financial damage.
Organisations are tasked with protecting
a wide range of sensitive data – including
employee and customer information,
intellectual property, financial forecasts
and operational data.

To understand current data security practices

and trends as well as identify opportunities
for organisations to enhance data security,
Microsoft commissioned an independent
research agency, Hypothesis Group, to
conduct a multi-national survey among over
800 data security professionals. This report
presents five key findings from the research
including trends, insights and strategies to
secure data.
Key Findings
October Data Security 4
2023 Index

1 2 3
Decision makers think
they’re protected, but
Having more tools
does not mean
Organisations continue
to be plagued by the
reality doesn’t match greater data security stress of external and
perceptions. or efficiency – it’s the internal data security
opposite. incidents, especially
While most decision makers
say they are satisfied and in business data.
80% of decision makers
confident with their data agree that comprehensive, 50% of organisations
security solutions, they’re integrated solutions are surveyed have experienced
still experiencing an average superior to manual, best-of- a ransomware or malware
of 59 data security incidents breed solutions – and yet attack in the past year – and
a year, with costly impacts. organisations’ approach many decision makers don’t
to tools continues to be believe their organisation is
fragmented, using an fully prepared to prevent and
average of 10+ data security address future ones. Internally,
tools. But those with the malicious insiders are a top
most tools also experience concern. Additionally,
more data security incidents, organisations are highly
suggesting that the greater concerned about the
the tool proliferation, the vulnerability of their business
weaker the security. data. This again underscores
the need for a security
platform that addresses
risks comprehensively.
Key Findings
October Data Security 5
2023 Index

4 5
Organisations need
Cloud and AI to drive
Automation and AI are
promising avenues of
digital transformation – greater protection.
but they’re also the
Organisations want their
most vulnerable teams to spend less time on
data locations. detection and more time on
prevention. Automation can
Cloud applications and AI allow teams to focus more
technology have become on proactive measures, while
essential for organisations’ using AI for data security
collaboration and productivity – helps organisations be more
however, this evolution has strategic and get smarter
also created more dynamic about future threats.
and multifaceted risks. As
organisations embrace AI,
enhancing data security
to enable responsible and
safe use becomes critical.
 October Data Security 6
2023 Index

Decision makers think

they’re protected,
but reality doesn’t
match perceptions.
 October Data Security 7
Decision makers think 2023 Index

they’re protected, but reality

doesn’t match perceptions.

On the surface, decision makers project high In addition, 92% face challenges, primarily
levels of confidence and satisfaction with in the areas of cost, integration and time to
their data security solutions, the majority implement, which inhibit their ability to further
of organisations agree their data security invest in data security, underscoring the need
controls are sufficient in preventing data from for more budget-friendly and labour-efficient
being breached, they feel they know where solutions.
most of their data resides and that they
can detect a majority of risks around data. The perception of confidence in data security
readiness differs from the reality of incidents
At the same time, organisations continue organisations are experiencing. Even though
to experience a substantial volume of data it is important for organisations to know
security incidents – an average of 59 in the where data is located and detect risks, these
past 12 months, with a fifth of those being measures individually, or separately, are not
considered ‘severe’. The impact of these enough to help organisations prevent the
incidents is widespread as on average, incidents that keep data security and risk
organisations estimate that the total financial decision makers up at night.
cost of their most severe data security incident
is around USD 244K – meaning annual As one CISO (Chief Information Security
incidents can cost up to USD 15 million. Officer) in financial services puts it, “I can’t
On top of these costs, four in 10 decision go tell my board of directors ‘I secured the
makers also say the operational cost to data, I just didn’t protect it’… the last thing
recover for a data security incident and loss we want to see is our bank failing to deliver
of business from reputational damage is of on the front page of the Wall Street Journal.”
high concern.

59
Average number of data
USD 15M
UP TO

security incidents in the Annual cost of severe

past 12 months security incident
 October Data Security 8
2023 Index

Having more tools

does not mean
greater data security
or efficiency – it’s the
opposite.
 October Data Security 9
Having more tools does not 2023 Index

mean greater data security or

efficiency – it’s the opposite.

Organisations are coming to realise that years As a result, organisations report using 10 data
of a point solution approach has created gaps security tools on average to address data
in visibility and efficiency due to siloed data security risks, including Data Loss Prevention,
security tools. That trend is now giving way Information Protection, Insider Risk
to a desire to have an integrated solution Management, Security Information & Event
for data security with 80% agreeing that Management (SIEM), Cloud Access Security
a comprehensive data security platform Broker and more. For organisations with over
with integrated solutions is superior to using 5,000 employees, the average number of tools
multiple best-of-breed solutions that have is even greater.
to be manually integrated and managed.
Having more tools may be creating a false
Yet even though the vast majority consider sense of security, as those who use more tools
integrated solutions superior, data security (16+) are more confident in their data security
tool usage is prolific and fragmented. posture compared to those who use fewer
tools (61% versus 56%).

However, research contradicts that sense

of security, as organisations with 16 or more
tools, also experienced more data security
incidents in the past year – an average of
133 – compared to 48 incidents for
organisations with fewer tools.

Agree that a comprehensive security platform

80% with integrated solutions is superior to using

multiple best-of-breed solutions that have to
be manually integrated and managed.

2.8× For organisations with 16 or more tools

More data security
(compared to organisations with fewer tools)
incidents in the past year
 October Data Security 10
2023 Index

The case for greater data security through more First, multiple disparate data security tools
integrated solutions and fewer tools becomes can lead to gaps in visibility and more shadow
even stronger when looking at the sentiments data. In fact, those who are concerned about
and practices of those who prefer best-of-breed shadow data are more likely to prefer
solutions or more tools. best-of-breed solutions. This is most likely
because organisations with a best-of-breed
approach need to take more effort to gain
a comprehensive visibility into their data
security posture.
“How is data going to be
Second, managing siloed solutions brings
gathered, aggregated and used more complexity to data security teams, as
from quite a few systems? A lot each disparate solution requires dedicated
of different data points need to staff, endpoint agent installation and
maintenance and various new processes.
be put together in one ecosystem Take alerts review and triage, one of the tasks
for it to really work. Or else you that need staff and resources, as an example.
really have a Swiss cheese An increasing number of alerts means extra
efforts required of data security teams when
version of data security.” managing isolated solutions. Organisations
with more tools receive an average of 96 data
VP of IT
security alerts per day, while teams with fewer
Manufacturing/Production
tools receive less than half that amount, with
44. In addition, they aren’t able to review as
many of these alerts as teams with fewer tools
can (61%, compared with 68%). This often also
results in organisations with more tools being
more reactive compared to organisations who
use a lower volume of tools.
 October Data Security 11
2023 Index

Lastly, more tools also indicate that “Right now, we’re crawling. Every one of the
organisations must exert extensive effort systems that we have, they all have their own
to integrate insights and remediation plans, portals, their own tools, their own ways of dealing
and information can become lost in translation. with things. Each person goes their own way,
When asked about the top data security where they’re the expert. Then they all get back
challenges, the cost of implementing or together and decide what is going on, and we
maintaining data security solutions and address it from there. So, it’s a bit of manual work
challenges integrating data security solutions at this point,” stated a Director of Infrastructure
are ranked as the top two. & Operations in manufacturing and production.

This translates to longer, slower processes, Ultimately, by choosing to continue with multiple
with 37% of those who use 16 or more tools solutions, organisations are ignoring their own
reporting needing one month or longer talk of understanding that integrated solutions
to complete a data security investigation are superior and walking in the opposite
compared to only 21% of those with fewer tools. direction – costing them time and money.

OUTCOMES OF THOSE WHO USE FEWER (<16)

VERSUS MORE (16+) DATA SECURITY TOOLS Low Volume High Volume
of Tools of Tools

Number of data security incidents in the past 12 months 48 133

Proportion of severe data security incidents 19% 26%

Our current data security strategy is more reactive 31% 40%

Challenged with integrating solutions 24% 39%

Data security team spends most time on response 19% 26%

We are confident with our data security posture 56% 61%

Number of alerts received per day on average 44 96

Proportion of alerts we can review per day 68% 61%

One month or longer needed

21% 37%
to complete a data security investigation
 October Data Security 12
2023 Index

Organisations continue
to be plagued by the
stress of external and
internal data security
incidents, especially
in business data.
 October Data Security 13
2023 Index

Organisations continue to be
plagued by the stress of external
and internal data security incidents,
especially on business data.
50%
Had data security incident
As factors around data – including the people caused by malware
who interact with data, activities around data or ransomware
and devices and apps used to process data – in the past year
are constantly evolving, data security incidents
and data breaches can happen anytime and
anywhere. And, these threats come from both
external attackers as well as trusted personnel,
including employees, contractors and partners.
Whether maliciously or inadvertently, all players In addition, these attacks are where
can cause data security incidents – which means organisations feel the most vulnerable, with
there’s a constant need to protect across 41% saying they feel least prepared to handle
a multitude of areas. future malware or ransomware attacks in the
next year. This sense of vulnerability is even
A VP of IT in financial services said, “What you higher among those that prefer a best-of-
are trying to protect against is always changing. breed approach – 44% feel unprepared for
It’s a moving target. It’s always going to be an attack of this nature, compared to only
evolving, changing and flexible. What you are 36% of those who prefer an integrated solution.
protecting and where it lives is only going to
get more varied.” Securing against and preventing insider risk
is also top of mind for decision makers. 35%
While data security incidents can come from say they need to shore up defences against
various sources, the external threat of malicious insiders and compromised accounts,
malware or ransomware incidents – instances and a third are concerned with inadvertent
where malicious software infiltrates a system, insider incidents. Although malicious insider
providing attackers with unauthorised access to incidents may not be the leading cause of data
systems or networks – are far and away the most security breaches, they are the second most
common, with 50% of organisations surveyed common type of incident decision makers
having experienced at least one in the past year. feel least prepared to prevent.
 October Data Security 14
2023 Index

“At least once a month,

I get a call from a panicked
director... ‘we’ve had an Insiders are trusted individuals who
event, I’ve uncovered an typically have been granted access to,
or possess knowledge of, company
event or the threat team has resources, data or systems that are
uncovered an event.’ Some not generally available to the public.
of them are unintentional, Consequently, the data security risks
associated with insiders tend to be more
some are people not elusive and difficult to detect. As Bret
knowing or understanding Arsenault, the CISO of Microsoft,
what their privileges allow.” indicated “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if
the breach was intentional or accidental.
US Government CISO Insider risk programs should be part of
every company’s security strategy.”

DATA SECURITY INCIDENTS SUMMARY

Most common incidents Least prepared to prevent

Causes of data security incidents in the past 12 months in the next 12 months

Malware or ransomware 50% 41%

Compromised accounts 38% 35%

Denial-of-service (DoS) attacks 35% 33%

Negligent insiders 32% 29%

Inadvertent insiders 31% 32%

Malicious insiders 31% 35%

Physical property 29% 29%

 October Data Security 15
2023 Index

The data security solutions that organisations Looking ahead, 77% of organisations perceive
choose must also work for a variety of sensitive business data, such as intellectual property
data, including high-value business data, and source code, as the most vulnerable.
operational data and personal data. During This is primarily because business data plays
data security incidents in the past 12 months, a crucial role in establishing competitive
74% of organisations have had business data advantages and revenue generation.
exposed, 65% saw operational data However, identifying and classifying such
compromised and 58% experienced personal data can be challenging, as traditional pattern
data being made vulnerable. Among the recognition, regular expression or function
various types of data, intellectual property, match technology may not effectively identify
IT and network design and PII has been content that lacks specific string formats or
compromised or exposed most often. keywords. In turn, organisations need more
advanced technologies to help discover and
protect those vulnerable sensitive data.

TYPES OF DATA MOST AT RISK IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

77% Business Data 64% Operational Data 63% Personal Data

Personal Identifiable
Intellectual property 30% IT and network design 29% 31%
Information (PII)

Human resources
Source code 28% Financial statements 18% information 21%
(payroll, resume, etc.)

Payment card industry

Business plans 27% Sales and revenue reports 15% 18%
(PCI) data

Protected Health
Trade secrets 24% Procurement & invoice 12% 18%
Information (PHI)

Legal documents/
Merger & acquisition files 20% 12% Credentials 17%
agreements

Manufacturing
Construction specifications 18% 11%
processes/batch files
 October Data Security 16
2023 Index

Organisations need
Cloud and AI to drive
digital transformation –
but they’re also
the most vulnerable
data locations.
 October Data Security 17
Organisations need Cloud and 2023 Index

AI to drive digital transformation

– but they’re also the most It’s now even more crucial to have the
right data security solution for these high-
vulnerable data locations. productivity data locations. In the past
12 months, 42% of organisations reported
Collaboration through cloud applications and security incidents in cloud storage and
platforms, combined with new AI technology, 31% in emails, instant messaging, or online
significantly enhances employee productivity meeting tools. Incidents seem to be most
and enables flexible work arrangements, making common where the most productivity and
cloud applications and AI technology essential collaboration happen.
for organisations. On average, organisations
now utilise 147 public cloud services spanning Managing these types of incidents takes
SaaS, PaaS and IaaS.1 And, 66% of organisations resources, and 79% of organisations report
have developed an AI strategy, with 36% already that their data security team needs more
implementing it.2 However, this evolution has people to effectively manage critical data
created more dynamic and multifaceted risks, security responsibilities. However, among the
due to the difficulty of clearly defining data organisations who claim to need more people,
boundaries across various environments. the majority (57%) prefer a best-in-breed
approach. This preference highlights that
organisations that use more solutions may
1. Measuring Risk and Risk Governance, Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), 2022
struggle more to identify the true risks among
2. Microsoft data security AI research, Hypothesis, Mar 2023 the myriad user activities.

DATA LOCATIONS SUMMARY

Data Locations Compromised in past 12 months Most at risk

Cloud storage (e.g., Box, OneDrive, Google Drive) 42% 54%

Emails/Instant messaging/Online meeting tools 31% 39%

Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) 29% 34%

Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) 28% 36%

AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Bard, etc.) 27% 38%

SaaS-based databases/data lakes 27% 41%

Endpoints/devices 25% 36%

On-prem repositories/file shares/databases 24% 28%

Shadow data 21% 23%

Line-of-business applications 17% 25%

Developer tools 16% 23%

 October Data Security 18
2023 Index

With over a third of organisations “AI is good for productivity and efficiency,
implementing AI strategy, and more on the but it has potential security and data risks.”
way, AI is being adopted at an unprecedented An enterprise a Security Decision Maker stated.
rate, much speedier than cloud and email
adoption in the past. As organisations While concerns around AI exist, decision makers
embrace AI, enhancing data security to enable can also see the potential, especially as suppliers
responsible use and prevent risk becomes in the market are developing innovations to help
essential. AI is considered a top at-risk location empower businesses through responsible AI use.
for data security incidents, compared to other To further utilise AI, however, organisations
locations and 27% of organisations have report top controls they need are to detect
experienced an AI data security breach. malicious or risky content in AI, encrypt, mask
Organisation’s concerns around the risks or anonymise data before it can be uploaded to
of using AI centre around a lack of control AI, and identify sensitive data generated by AI.
over data shared with AI, lack of controls to
detect and mitigate risky use of AI, lack of
transparency around how generative AI TOP FIVE DATA SECURITY
models are trained and leak of confidential CONTROLS NEEDED FOR AI
information through AI.

Detect malicious or
1
risky content in AI

Encrypt, mask or anonymised data

2
before it can be uploaded to AI

Identify sensitive data

3
generated by AI

Prevent sensitive data

4
from being uploaded to AI

Detect model or
5
data manipulation in AI
 October Data Security 19
2023 Index

Automation and AI
are promising avenues
of greater protection.
 October Data Security 20
2023 Index

Automation and AI
are promising avenues
The benefit of adopting a more proactive
of greater protection. strategy is evident, as the organisations
surveyed that are more proactive already
experience less costly data security incidents,
In an ideal world, without constraints based are more likely to be able to investigate those
on organisational priorities or budget, half of incidents in less than a month and are more
organisations would like to be more proactive likely to believe their defence controls are
around data security management, spending sufficient in preventing data breaches.
more time on things like discovery of sensitive
data and associated risks around it and While organisations are aware that proactive
prevention of data security incidents. Currently data security measures can help reduce data
though, more than half of organisations spend security risks, they are not making progress
the most time focusing on reactive measures in implementing those measures. For example,
like detection of incidents, response and those seeking to be more proactive by
investigations. And this detection and response allocating more time to prevention are more
to data security incidents is time-intensive – likely to choose best-of-breed solutions, which
it takes most organisations about a month to actually demand greater efforts in handling
resolve a data security incident and for some, reactive measures when bringing in detection
resolution can take up to six months. signals and response controls together.

OUTCOMES OF ORGANISATIONS THAT ARE

MORE PROACTIVE VERSUS REACTIVE
More Proactive More Reactive

Average cost impact of a data security

USD 207k USD 330k
incident in the past 12 months

Complete a data security investigation

80% 68%
in less than a month on average

Our defence controls are sufficient

77% 68%
in preventing data breaches
 October Data Security 21
2023 Index

As resources and staff are limited and

TOP FIVE AREAS DATA SECURITY TEAMS
the allocation of effort between activities
PREFER TO AUTOMATE/ALLEVIATE
might not be ideal, organisations are
looking for technology to help them
to set aside more time for proactive Reactive
activities. Automation is one way for Creating automated workflows for
1
organisations to make time for a more incident management and response
proactive approach to data security. 74%
of organisations surveyed would prefer
semi or fully-automated risk mitigation,
which allows security teams to minimise 2 Creating data security reports
the impact of potential data security
incidents ahead of time over manual
Reactive
reviews. Furthermore, organisations
recognise many other tasks that could Responding to and containing
3
benefit from automation, such as data security incidents
creation of data security reports,
automation of incident management
workflow and the response to and Routing incidents to the right teams
investigation of incidents. Most of the 4
(e.g., SOC, legal, HR) during investigations
top tasks that security teams want to
automate are reactive measures. By
automating these tasks, organisations
can alleviate the burden on their data 5 Investigating data security incidents
security teams, enabling them to
embrace a more proactive stance.

"There is so much risky data

to manually evaluate. AI can
help in speeding up our team’s
response times and protect
data as we are under-resourced.”
UK Security Decision Maker
 October Data Security 22
2023 Index

Using AI for data security can also help

organisations be more strategic and get TOP SCENARIOS WHERE AI IS USED
smarter about future threats. The technology
speeds up the response to detected incidents,
Automatically block
buying data security professionals time to
inappropriate sharing of data
investigate further. Similar to automation,
organisations cite many scenarios where
AI can help provide stronger security, thus Detect critical data security
saving their team’s time. Top scenarios risks/anomalous data activities
for AI use include automatically blocking
inappropriate sharing of data, detecting critical Recommendations to better secure
data security risks/ anomalous data activities your data environment
and investigating potential data security
incidents.
Investigate potential
By leveraging the benefits of AI and automation data security incidents
and moving towards more integrated solutions,
organisations can embrace a more proactive
data security strategy and set themselves up Finetune data security policies
for a more secure future.
 October Data Security 23
2023 Index

Final Recommendations

Adopt an integrated platform to

strengthen data security posture

Guard against data security incidents

from both outside in and inside out
with a defence-in-depth approach

Upgrade your data security

strategies with AI and automation
Final Recommendations
October Data Security 24
2023 Index

Adopt an integrated platform

to strengthen data security posture

According to the findings in this research, fewer solutions can bring more security. It may
seem counter-intuitive, but organisations must combat the false sense of confidence that
arises from a multitude of isolated solutions. Supplier consolidation offers a strategic
approach that not only reduces costs, but also enhances security.

Data security decision makers can initiate this transformation by empowering their teams
to dedicate more time to strategic work like researching and planning for new security
controls and optimising security policies – something 84% of decision makers agree they
want to be doing. This process involves replacing legacy siloed solutions, which are often
considered ‘best-of-breed’, but fail to integrate effectively with other tools.

Decision makers can foster close collaboration with their teams to establish data security
program goals and key performance indicators (KPIs). They can then progress by defining
solution requirements and identifying non-negotiable features. This approach empowers
them to pinpoint vendors capable of providing tools that align with their overarching
objectives. Crucially, it promotes a forward-thinking mindset and helps teams avoid
becoming overly fixated on existing practices or isolated use cases, allowing them to
implement necessary changes towards a more integrated approach.

An integrated data security platform should empower security teams to do all these
critical tasks seamlessly:

1. Discover and protect sensitive data within their digital landscape.

2. Detect critical risks associated with this data.

3. Prevent unauthorised use of sensitive data while not

impacting legitimate business activities.

By implementing an integrated data security strategy, organisations can achieve a higher

level of protection while simultaneously simplifying their security infrastructure.
Final Recommendations
October Data Security 25
2023 Index

Guard against data security incidents from both outside

in and inside out with a defence-in-depth approach

Data security incidents commonly result from external attackers, malicious insiders or
inadvertent insiders. Organisations must take measures to safeguard their data, both
by preventing unauthorised access from external threats and by mitigating the risk of
insider theft or accidental data exposure.

To tackle these challenges, organisations can adopt a defence-in-depth approach to

data security. This strategy is analogous to a museum’s protection of priceless artworks:
cutting-edge security cameras equipped with threat intelligence monitor visitors,
ticketing systems manage identity and access to the museum and stringent security
measures around the artworks operate similarly to data security controls protecting
your valuable data. These measures discourage potential incidents, whether it originates
from external bad actors or individuals already within the organisation’s environment.

Combating evolving data security risks requires a concerted effort across the
organisation to implement this defence-in-depth strategy. Data security team’s
collaboration with other departments, such as Security Operations Centre (SOC),
can optimise data security investment. Notably, 66% of organisations that consider
themselves proactive interact with their SOC team, compared to 54% who do not.

Like teamwork across security teams, data security solutions should also seamlessly
integrate with other systems, such as Extended Detection and Response (XDR) or Identity
and Access Management (IAM) solutions, to effectively prevent data security incidents
from both external and internal sources. These integrations enable organisations to
conduct comprehensive investigations and responses to security incidents, gaining
a thorough understanding of the affected data, actors and activities and responding
with multiple mitigation controls. Consequently, this empowers them to make informed,
precise and prompt responses to minimise the impact of potential security incidents.
Final Recommendations
October Data Security 26
2023 Index

Upgrade your data security strategies

with AI and automation
Automation and AI can help organisations be more proactive in data security. Here are
some recommendations for your organisation to embark on the automation and AI journey:

• Discover sensitive data: Utilise AI to assist in identifying sensitive data and applying
protection policies, including encryption and rights management. This is particularly
valuable for business data that may pose challenges for detection through traditional
pattern recognition technologies. Organisations can leverage classification technology,
such as machine learning or AI-powered classifiers, known for their intelligence and
ability to swiftly locate sensitive content based on data context or business category.
Alternatively, organisations can employ exact data matching technology to
discover operational or personal data.

Furthermore, as industry regulations evolve (e.g., GDPR, HIPAA or PCI DSS) and data land-
scape become more dynamic, it is crucial to possess advanced classification technology
that is customisable and easily adaptable to identify new categories of sensitive data.

• Detect critical data security risks: Harness the power of AI to pinpoint critical risks
associated with your sensitive data and allocate resources strategically to address
potential high-risk incidents. AI technologies can generate high-fidelity alerts, allowing
security teams to save valuable time that would otherwise be spent sifting through an
abundance of false-positive alerts. Moreover, AI can assist organisations in identifying
elusive risks, particularly when malicious actors attempt to evade detection. It is
imperative to utilise machine speed to outpace these threat actors.

• Prevent data security incidents dynamically: Use AI and automation to tailor your
prevention and mitigation controls automatically based on assessed risks, enabling
a more adaptable and proactive data security strategy. When AI-powered solutions
detect and evaluate risks, automated prevention controls can swiftly engage to safeguard
the data, applying mitigation controls precisely to the high-risk areas. For instance,
in cases where early indicators of data exfiltration intent are detected by high-risk users,
organisations can apply more stringent Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies, proactively
staying ahead of potential data security incidents.

We hope you find the insights and recommendations

in this report helpful to enhance your data security posture
and fortify your organisation against evolving risks.
To learn more about Microsoft Data Security,
visit https://aka.ms/DataSecurityNews
Detailed Research
October Data Security 27
2023 Index

Objectives, Methodology
and Audience Recruit

The objectives of the research included: To meet the screening criteria,

Data Security Decision Makers needed to be:
1 Understand the data security landscape,
CISO and adjacent decision makers (C-2 and
including priorities, mindsets
above) with purview over data security​
and challenges
Work at Enterprise organisations (500+
employees; range of sizes)​
2 Map the cause and effect of data
security incidents and identify actions Mix of regulated and non-regulated industries
that data security teams can take to (no education, government, or non-profit)
enhance data security posture

3 Explore the future of data security,

including emerging strategies and Of the 822 Data Security Decision Makers
innovations around using AI for surveyed for the research, completes
data security by country were:

US 329

Methodology was: UK 322

A 15-minute multi-national online survey was Australia 171

conducted July 28-August 9, 2023, among
822 data security decision makers.

Questions centred around the data security

landscape, how data security teams allocate
their resources, data security incidents and
attitudes toward and use of artificial
intelligence (AI) for data security.

© Hypothesis Group 2023. © Microsoft 2023.

All rights reserved. 10/23