Comparing peer-reviewed and popular perspectives on database security

Database Security

Over the last several years the overall issue of database security has been increasingly brought to the forefront. Part of the reason for this is the increased amounts of reliance on internet technology as part of daily life. Where, businesses will use the internet to reach out to new customers more effectively, while at the same time consumers will turn to the internet for information. While this is a good thing, the fact of the matter is that the wide spread use of this technology has meant that whole host of security issues are facing both businesses and consumers on regular basis. To fully understand the impact of security requires examining two different articles on the subject. This will be accomplished by comparing the ideas of a peer reviewed article (2007 Survey on Database Security) with that of a popular article (How to Secure Sensitive Data in a Cloud Environment). Together these two elements will provide the greatest insights as to varying degrees of depth and accuracy.

Article Summaries

Ponemon, L (2007). 2007 Survey on Database Security. Retrieved May 14, 2010 from Appsec Inc. website: http://www.appsecinc.com/techdocs/whitepapers/2007-Ponemon-Database-Security-Study-Sponsored-by-Application-Security-Inc.pdf

In the article 2007 Survey on Database Security, the author conducted a survey on how various businesses and government entities respond to different cyber security threats. Where, they focused on several critical issues to include: the it environment within an organization, the priorities of data base security issues and how quickly each entity responded to such issues. The different pieces of information were gathered by surveying 649 managers in the it departments of various organizations. The results were: inside personnel pose a significant security threat, most organizations do not place an emphasis on examining the different security threats and 95% of respondents were searching for assistance in dealing with the different security related issues. (Ponemon, 2010)

Markovich, S. (2010). How to Secure Sensitive Data in a Cloud Environment. Retrieved May 14, 2010 from E. Week website: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Cloud-Computing/How-to-Secure-Sensitive-Data-in-Cloud-Environments/

As many businesses are turning to the internet for filling their different needs, this is often accomplished through the use of virtual technology. The article How to Secure Sensitive Data in a Cloud Environment; highlights how the problem with using such a system is that large amounts of data could be exposed to hackers. To effectively utilize this type of it protocol the article suggests that an organization use WANs and carefully limit the amounts of access to the entire database. (Markovich, 2010)

A Comparison of Both Articles

When you compare the two different articles, it is clear that the 2007 Survey on Database Security points out issues that could affect businesses or government entities. This is different from the article How to Secure Sensitive Data in a Cloud Environment, where its focus is how an organization can effectively manage a large virtual network.

The Differences between the Two

The peer reviewed article (2007 Survey on Database Security) is obviously more focused on pointing out issues that could become a problem over the long-term. This is because the issues that are being identified could be just emerging as possible situation, based upon their interviews with it managers. Therefore, a solution for the problem presented may not be available. The media reviewed article (How to Secure Sensitive Data in a Cloud Environment) highlights current issues that are facing businesses over the short to medium term. Where, the article will identify the problems and will then point out different solutions that can be implemented.

What the two different articles highlight, is that the overall focus on the various it related issues are different, with both showing two critical problems. As a result, the extent of the issues covered will be more in depth in the peer reviewed article, as opposed to the main stream media article. This is because the audience is more technically focused and the content from the peer viewed article, must address issues that are most important to them. Therefore, one can easily see how the accuracy elements are consistent, but the focus of the articles will be geared to reflect the intended audience.