Blog

Overview:

* Recently, Google acquired two major companies specialized in data management and data security;

* With several attacks against large companies in the past year, Google’s investment in Google Cloud security may indicate a trend for the coming years;

* In 2020, cyberattacks grew exponentially due to the shift to remote work; see the data.

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Investing in data security will be—and already is—a top concern for large companies worldwide. A clear sign of that is Google’s recent acquisition of two companies specialized in data management and security: Dataform and Actifio.

With a growing number of cyberattacks happening around the world, the Silicon Valley giant decided to invest heavily in protecting its users and the enterprises that rely on its services, further intensifying competition with Amazon and its AWS offering.

Now part of Google Cloud, Dataform started as a startup and stood out for helping large companies manage large volumes of data, making analysis easier and enabling teams to extract new insights for their businesses.

In short, the startup simplified the way companies visualize raw data through its tools.

Google’s other major acquisition was Actifio, a data security company that claims it can provide end-to-end support against intruders—strengthening security for companies that use Google services and offering safer backups to users.

How can Google’s investment indicate a trend?

Even though the deal values were not disclosed, investing in data security is not cheap. In this context, a giant like Google would not take a step like this without strong signals of where the market is going.

Beyond reducing the likelihood of successful attacks, Google’s move increases competitiveness—especially against Amazon’s cloud services. As a result, the trend is that more data-security technologies will be developed in the coming years.

A large part of that development also depends on building more capable artificial intelligence. In other words, AI within systems will increasingly help fight intruders faster and more safely.

Google’s investment also aligns with the development of new technologies that aim to prevent malicious attacks more effectively in users’ daily lives—not only inside big corporations.

Just as two-factor authentication was introduced years ago, new tools can also be created, especially as cloud storage becomes even more widely adopted.

In that scenario, having a trustworthy and secure system is essential.

Did you know cyberattacks increased in recent years?

With remote work becoming the norm and people working away from corporate headquarters, making your organization’s security a priority is essential.

Of course, it is not easy to transition from on-site to remote overnight.

Still, your company’s data security needs to be on the top of your priority list. According to a report published by GetApp, in the past 12 months, about one third of companies have already been victims of ransomware attacks.

That significant number shows how unprepared many organizations are for the pace of technological change and how quickly data can be transferred over the internet. Another worrying factor is that attacks against apps are becoming more frequent—and more powerful.

This type of malicious software can take advantage of permissions granted by users and device resources to encrypt data. If you don’t have backups, it is practically impossible to recover what was lost without paying the “ransom” demanded by criminals.

What are the most common types of cyberattacks?

As mentioned earlier, with technology advancing, it is common for cyberattacks against companies to increase—criminals can have state-of-the-art tools at home.

Besides ransomware, there are many other forms of attacks, which is why it is important to have a security structure capable of handling most threats.

One of the best known—and most concerning—is the DDoS attack. In this scenario, criminals overload a server, causing slowness and making sites and apps unavailable.

In many cases, attackers demand large sums from the company in exchange for stopping. It is also common for DDoS attacks to be carried out by competitors as a way to harm a rival’s revenue.

However, there are other types of intrusions. According to a study published by Kaspersky, a reference in security software, in 2020 the number of brute-force attacks in Brazil increased by 330% in just two months.

This type of attack is an attempt to discover access keys through trial and error. If a system’s security is not reinforced, it becomes easier for criminals to succeed.

In addition to the attacks above, traditional Trojans, phishing scams, and attacks targeting your network’s ports can also occur—especially if your data security technology is not strong enough to block intruders.

How can Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD) increase security?

Recently, Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD) began taking effect, promising better protection for users’ data.

This regulation was an important step to prevent abuse in the handling of personal data—whether for ad personalization, service offers, or protection against improper use.

LGPD is based on the idea that everything we do on the internet leaves traces. When we register on an e-commerce site, access news portals, or watch a video on YouTube, companies collect information to better understand their audience profiles.

With regulation, personal data is more protected, reducing collection, sale, and transfer by third parties without user consent—a practice that used to happen relatively often.

In short, with LGPD in effect, data subjects have more control over how their personal data is used. Even though the change may raise concerns for organizations, the goal is to protect people as much as possible from fraud and other issues such as misuse of data.

The consequences of data leaks are now even more serious, which helps explain Google’s investment in protecting its systems. In Brazil, fines can reach R$ 50 million, according to the National Data Protection Authority (ANPD).

In a software factory, security is essential

At X-Apps, our Product Owner Karol Cruz notes that LGPD is effective for data security and points out that, in addition to helping users, companies now need to invest even more in system security to avoid failures and vulnerabilities.

She also highlights that software factories must be extremely careful and use everything available to protect a project:

“We build the project idea for the hiring company and connect it to a secure API so the product can be used right away. After delivering the app, we go through a verification process and look for any vulnerabilities in the system.

From there, we define what can or cannot be changed to further increase the project’s security, along with, of course, the client’s requests.

So far, we haven’t experienced any system instability due to cyberattacks in the projects we’ve delivered,” Karol adds.

With all of this, it becomes easier to understand how important it is to have a secure app for your company, right? 

Talk to an X-Apps specialist now to clear up your questions or request a quote.