Enterprises must shift from threat- centric to data-centric security

ANKUR PATIAL
SR. CONSULTANT INFORMATION & DATA SECURITY, VARONIS

“You see, in the last 5–10 years, organizations have onboarded multiple technologies, but the question is—are breaches really being stopped? If you look at last year, a couple of big customers got compromised—Uber, MGM—and it’s not because of lack of technology. The issue is that attackers are innovating faster than traditional defenses. Firewalls, DLPs, EDRs— they know what malware is, they know what threats are, but they don’t understand your data, your crown jewels. Most breaches occur due to credential compromise—86% of attacks, according to reports. Once an attacker has your credentials, logging in triggers no alarms from these systems. Combine that with a growing blast radius—cloud adoption, collaboration platforms, sharing files openly-and exposure multiplies. AI tools, like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT, inherit user access rights, surfacing data across this blast radius, often without anyone realizing the risk.

Our approach at Varonis is data-centric and automation-driven. First, we give visibility—organizations need to know where their data lives, whether on-prem, in the cloud, or in third-party SaaS applications, and identify overexposed content. Second, we fix risks automatically. For example, if a folder has 2,000 people with access but only five actively use it, our platform can revoke the excess permissions automatically. We also classify and label sensitive data in line with DPDP and Microsoft Information Protection, ensuring that files retain their classification wherever they go. Stale data is another major risk-files untouched for years often contain confidential information. We automate lifecycle management, moving or deleting old files securely, which can mitigate over 80% of risk with minimal manual effort.

Finally, continuous monitoring is key. We build behavioural baselines for users and detect anomalies, misbehaviour, or suspicious activity in real time. Business email compromise, password spray attempts, and insider threats are all detected before they escalate. Our MDR team investigates and fixes these risks immediately. We also provide access governance automation, so data owners can approve or revoke access quickly, ensuring policies are always enforced. Everything we do-from discovery, classification, remediation, to monitoring-is automated and auditable. We work hand-in-hand with customers, providing TAM support to ensure deployments succeed and ROI is realized. For organizations looking to understand their data health, we even offer a free Data Risk Assessment, helping them see and secure their environment proactively.”