Gartner: Most Security Leaders Cannot Balance Data Security, Business Goals

February 12, 2025

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Only 14% of security and risk management leaders can effectively secure organizational data assets while also enabling the data to achieve business objectives, according to Gartner. In a recent survey, Gartner found that 35% of respondents secure data assets and 21% use data to achieve business goals, but only one in seven (14%) could do both effectively.

This gap exposes organizations to threats, regulatory penalties, and operational inefficiencies, Gartner said. The analyst firm outlined five recommendations for organizations to address the gap:

Use a well-established process to co-create data security polices and standards.
Partner with other internal functions to identify overlaps.
that business groups must meet when handling data security risks.
Allow business groups to experiment within clearly set parameters.
Secure top-down buy-in on data security initiatives.