Trustwave Blog

Introducing the Value of Data Report

Written by Dan Kaplan | Dec 14, 2017

As the saying goes, everything has a price tag, including the data you handle, process, transfer and store. But exactly how valuable is this sensitive information - comprised of personally identifiable information (PII), intellectual property, payment card numbers and email content - to your organization? And how much is the exact same data worth to cybercriminals? To regulators? To insurers?

You can probably guess that the worth of data depends on who you ask. But how do we know for sure? Because we commissioned industry analyst firm Quocirca to perform an exhaustive analysis, including querying 500 risk and IT professionals across five countries - with the result being our inaugural Value of Data Report.

Not only does the report expose the diverse values that stakeholders place on data, it also examines whether the most critical of those interested parties - the data controllers - are implementing adequate vigilance to manage the associated risk.

Spanning 17 pages and showcasing extensive research findings, the report can be considered one of the most complete evaluations of the worth of data to date - and a comprehensive dissection into how data has helped shape business models and become arguably the world's most significant resource.

  • How values for PII data greatly varies across countries and industries.
  • Which sectors are surprisingly falling short in terms of data risk assessments.
  • Types of PII data cybercriminals consider a cash cow.
  • Industry-wide lackadaisical attitudes towards protecting email.
  • New fines on the horizon that will change how businesses care for data.
  • Recommendations for assessing data risk and protecting against compromise.
  • Up-to-date statistics and other metrics you can use within your organization.
  • Plus, much more.