The term data-centred security is particularly at home in the areas of cybercrime and cybersecurity as well as big data and smart data. It describes an approach in which the focus is no longer just on protecting networks or devices, but on the data itself.

While traditional security concepts aim to prevent unauthorised access to the network, data-centric security asks: What actually happens to the data, no matter where it is stored or where it goes? The aim is to recognise, label and specifically protect sensitive information - regardless of whether it is stored in a company database, on a laptop or in a cloud.

An illustrative example: A company stores customer data on various servers and in the cloud. With data-centric security, this data is automatically recognised, classified (e.g. as "strictly confidential") and encrypted. Even if a hacker gains access to a server, they cannot do anything with this data because it is unreadable without authorisation.

Data-centred security is therefore a modern and necessary approach to sustainably protect digital information in an increasingly networked world.