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Bitglass Where’s Your Data Experiment 2021: Why You Should Care Where Your Data is Going

Back view of businessman with suitcase in hands looking at virtual panel

In 2015 several things happened in the tech world that significantly impacted our lives today, such as Google making their powerful artificial intelligence technology (TensorFlow) open source, the start of the media streaming wars, and the introduction of the Apple Watch to the world. Also that year a first of its kind experiment, run by Bitglass, tracked where stolen data travelled through the “Dark Web.” 

The 2015 experiment found that within two weeks stolen data was viewed more than 1,000 times and downloaded 47 times by people around the world. In a Wall Street Journal article covering the experiment, Bitglass CEO Nat Kausik, said “What we found was there is a pretty liquid market for stolen data.” 

The Bitglass Threat Research Group ran the experiment again and compared the 2021 results to those back in 2015.  What they found was interesting, enlightening and alarming. Some of the top-line findings include:  

  • Stolen data has a wider reach and moves more quickly
  • Dark Web activity has become darker
  • Cybercriminals are closer than you think.

The original impetus of the report was to provide IT and security leaders with actionable intelligence they need to carefully navigate through a new reality where corporate data moves beyond the traditional firewall. Today, this motivation has not only unchanged but has become more important than ever, now with the world fully immersed in digital transformation and where data has become a valuable commodity, cybercriminals are moving full steam ahead to take advantage of this very lucrative opportunity.  

For IT and security leaders, now that you know where stolen data is going; The question now is: What are you going to do about it?   

You can read the experiment findings and tips on how to prevent your data from being stolen here.  

2021 Where's Your Data Experiment Report

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from Bitglass Blog authored by Woodrow Mosqueda. Read the original post at: https://www.bitglass.com/blog/bitglass-wheres-your-data-experiment-2021-why-you-should-care-where-your-data-is-going