Where would we be without our beloved Excel spreadsheets? Since Microsoft first launched its Excel spreadsheet software in 1985, it has grown to arguably become the most important computer program in workplaces globally. The spreadsheet has truly become entrenched in daily business processes as well as critical applications - but the million dollar question is - are spreadsheets secure? Unfortunately when it comes to spreadsheet security, with popularity comes complacency.

Before we zoom in on the problems with unstructured data in the finance industry, let’s take a step back and look at the massive proliferation of data in general. Did you know, around 59 zettabytes (ZB) of data – that’s 59 with 21 zeros after it – were expected to be created, captured, copied and consumed in the world, according to Global DataSphere from International Data Corporation ( IDC)? That’s a lot of data!

Cloud-based solutions are the holy grail for the modern day business. The convenience of being able to access enterprise data and tools any time, any place, and from any device has been a key ingredient for business success - particularly if you’re in the middle of a global pandemic. But, there are plenty of unspoken risks that come with the use of an always-connected workforce.

With work-from-home now the default mode in most industries, organisations and employees now have to access and transfer files across home networks and personal devices on a daily basis. Naturally businesses are concerned as leaked files can have serious financial and legal repercussions.

- Even as crime numbers fell overall in Singapore between 2016 and 2017, the percentage of cybercrimes grew from 15.6% to 16.6% of total crimes. This motivated the Singapore Police Force and the National Crime Prevention Council to re-enact cybercrime cases in a popular crime watch series. - In Australia, the Australian Cyber Security Centre’s Annual Cyber Threat report shows that a cyber crime is reported, on average, every ten minutes.

When it comes to Data protection, we used to talk about securing the perimeter with firewalls, VPNs, cybersecurity training for employees, to prevent data leaks - remember those days?? Well, these days, things are a little different as we now have remote working to contend with. As a result, Zero Trust has crept in and tilted the formula for Data security and securing network perimeters is no longer effective.

There’s simply no denying that Data is the currency of the future. All businesses have one or more databases and are naturally heavily reliant on them not only to store information, but also to utilise the data to make business informed decisions. Whether it’s payroll data, employee records, customer information, financial information or even inventory data today’s list of Data is endless.