Bad guys v the data defenders: Let battle commence

Big data analytics is making it easier to spot the bad guys looking to infiltrate business defences.

And these days, businesses need every weapon at their disposal, as bedroom hackers give way to organised criminal gangs. 

Lose your data and you can lose your reputation, customers, and even your business.
This week, US retail giant Target Corporation, which suffered a massive theft of customer data last year, offloaded its chief information officer, Beth Jacob, as part of a major overhaul of its security practices.

Stolen details of about 360 million customer accounts are now available on cyber black markets, according to security firms.

External data leaks affected more than 160 million people in 2012, according to KPMG's Data Loss Barometer, a rise of 40% on the year before.

And hacking accounted for 67% of the data loss by number of incidents.
Small needle, big haystack
 
"Big data is about pushing the needle out of the haystack irrespective of how big the haystack has become or how small the needle is," said Gordon Harrison, an industry consultant at data analytics specialist SAS.

Haiyan Song, vice-president of security at big data analysis firm Splunk, said analysing reams of data to spot security breaches had become essential because of the changing tactics of the criminals.

Hi-tech thieves have changed their tactics because security companies have got so good at spotting malware. Instead, the bad guys are relying on more subtle tactics and strive to slip inside a company unnoticed.

Big data analysis tools could help pick them out of the crowds of data, said Ms Song.