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Data Protection
Rethinking Your Security Investment (RoSI): Protecting Data, Not Just Networks
Learn why traditional security falls short in protecting sensitive data, and how file-centric security delivers smarter, cost-effective protection by securing the data, not just the network around it.
Written by
Hari Indukuri (CTO) & Chris Dailey (CRO)
Published On
May 2, 2025



In a world where data breaches make headlines week after week, even among companies with the largest security budgets, it’s time to ask some hard questions.
Are we building true data protection, or just building more complex security systems that still leave data exposed?
For decades, security spending has focused on building bigger perimeters, layering on more tools, and chasing threats across increasingly fragmented ecosystems. But despite these efforts, the breaches continue. And the stakes keep getting higher.
It’s worth considering: Could traditional security investments be reinforcing a broken model rather than solving the problem?
In this article, we explore how a shift to file-centric security offers a smarter, more resilient alternative, one that protects data at the source and frees organizations from the cost and complexity of outdated architectures.
This blog will cover the following topics in detail:
The perimeter data fallacy and how we got here
The flaws in perimeter-based data protection
Why the perimeter model persists
How Zero Trust offers a partial evolution
An overview of the File-Centric Security model
Cost and security comparison between perimeter and file-centric security
The Perimeter Data Fallacy and How We Got Here
The concept of a security perimeter was born in a world where digital infrastructure was centralized. In the early days of enterprise computing, networks, servers, and users were housed within the same physical and digital boundaries. Security architectures mirrored this reality, focusing on building thick walls, like firewalls, VPNs, and intrusion detection systems, all designed to keep intruders out. If you were inside the perimeter, you were implicitly trusted.
But security architecture has not evolved enough to align with the changing shape of business. Today’s enterprise is dispersed:
Employees are working from anywhere.
Applications live across multiple clouds.
Vendors, contractors, and third parties have privileged access.
Sensitive data moves freely across email, collaboration platforms, and SaaS tools.
Despite these profound business transformations, cybersecurity strategies have largely remained perimeter-first, creating a dangerous disconnect between how businesses operate and how they protect the most important asset, their data.
“We’ve modernized everything about how we work, except how we secure it. Perimeter security was built for office parks and on-prem servers, not cloud-native, boundary less enterprises.” - Thomas Kwon, CEO, FenixPyre
The Flaws in Perimeter-Based Data Protection
Here’s the central problem: data no longer lives within walls. It’s dynamic, mobile, and shared across ecosystems.
But perimeter-based security still treats data as if it’s static, locked in a vault.
This results in critical data vulnerability gaps:
Once a user gets inside, either through compromised credentials, a phishing campaign, or insider access, the data is largely unprotected.
Remote and hybrid environments break down the perimeter entirely, exposing data assets to the open internet.
Third-party access creates risk zones you can’t fully control, extending trust into infrastructures you don’t manage.
In modern ecosystems, perimeter security still wrongly assumes trust can be assigned based on boundary alone, but boundary is both ambiguous and irrelevant, which leaves sensitive data vulnerable.
Why the Perimeter Model Persists
There are several reasons why organizations cling to the perimeter model:
Legacy Investment: Billions have been spent on perimeter tools and services. Replacing these services requires capital and a total architectural shift, something few organizations are ready for.
Incremental Additions: Instead of rethinking the foundation, organizations keep layering new tools (like DLP, ZTNA, SWG) on top of the perimeter, hoping to patch weaknesses that originate from an outdated design.
Operational Familiarity: Security and IT teams are trained on perimeter-based tools. Shifting to a data-centric model demands new skills, new workflows, and often a new mindset.
Comfort in Control: Firewalls and gateways offer visible points of control, which creates an illusion of safety. But this visibility does not equal protection.
It’s time to confront the core issue: the way we secure data hasn’t kept pace with the way data actually moves.
Zero Trust: A Partial Evolution
A Zero Trust security framework is built on a simple but powerful principle: never trust, always verify. But while Zero Trust security is often hailed as the evolution of perimeter security, in practice, it's often implemented as "perimeter 2.0."
Yes, it enforces least privilege access and continuous verification, but it still often operates through network-based enforcement, using tools like identity-aware firewalls, micro-segmentation, and context-based policies all of which can be bypassed once initial trust is established.
Most critically: Zero Trust rarely extends to the data itself. It protects systems and users, but not the actual payload: the sensitive files, IP, and records that attackers seek.
It’s clear the traditional approach isn’t working. To move forward, we need to rethink the very foundation of our security model, not just reinforce it.
That’s where file-centric security comes in. Instead of focusing on where data is stored or who has network access, this approach protects the one thing attackers are actually after: the file itself.
The File-Centric Security Model: Redefining Data Protection
File-Centric Security begins defining a solution by starting with this question:
How can you ensure your data isn’t stolen even when someone is inside your perimeter with valid credentials?
In a digital landscape where sensitive data travels across clouds, devices, and borders, file-centric security offers a fundamental shift: it protects the file itself, not just the environment that surrounds it.
Unlike perimeter-centric approaches that attempt to safeguard infrastructure boundaries, file-centric security turns the document into a self-defending asset persistently protected wherever it goes - even when someone is using valid credentials.
What Makes File-Centric Security Different
File-centric security solves data security by solving the problem from a different starting point. Here's how:
Valid credentials do not change the level of security around the file. In other words, security and compliance is automatically integrated into the file itself, to ensure that security policies are always followed no matter valid credentials or not.
It doesn’t rely on monitoring user behaviors to implement protection. Instead, protection is persistent and automatic at all times around sensitive data.
Allows data to move seamlessly in a secure state as opposed to DLP solutions that leaves the data vulnerable and causes friction through classification, tagging, blocking users, and creating false alerts.
Costs anywhere from 25% to 50% less to protect data than a typical DLP/perimeter centric data security approach.
Each file becomes a secure container, enforced by technologies that are both invisible to users and powerful to adversaries.
The result? Files become autonomous, mobile, and inherently secure without relying on complex perimeter defenses.
File-Centric Security Offers Unified Protection Across Departments
A single file-centric platform can protect all data types uniformly, whether it’s:
HR safeguarding employee records
Finance protecting PII and contracts
Legal managing NDAs or regulatory documents
Engineering preserving IP and source code
or C-Suite sharing board-level insights.
A uniform security platform eliminates the need for siloed systems, manual classification, or burdensome user training. Most critically, it reduces dependence on user behavior, which is the most frequent point of failure in traditional models. And it even protects against those inside your network with valid credentials and bad motives.
Cost and Security: A Comparison between Perimeter and File-Centric Security
The following sections offer a detailed cost and security comparison between perimeter and file-centric security.
Comparing the Cost to Secure Data Using “Perimeter + Legacy Data Security Stack” or “Perimeter + File-Centric Security”
When evaluating data security strategies, cost is a major consideration, but it’s not just about the price tag, it’s about the Return on Security Investment (RoSI).
Below, we break down the number of tools and estimated costs organizations typically spend to achieve tighter data security via a perimeter-based stack compared to a more secure and streamlined, file-centric alternative.
Cost Breakdown of “Perimeter + Legacy Data Security Stack” Approach to Data Security
When we think of protecting data, we need to evaluate how to build a stack that protects against the most common threat vectors; insider threats and remote work, ransomware, and third-party risk management, which often requires implementing a broad and expensive stack of tools:
Category | Tool | 10 Users | 100 Users | 500 Users | 1,000 Users |
IAM | Azure Active Directory | $504 | $5,040 | $25,200 | $50,400 |
SIEM | Splunk | $39,550 | $39,550 | Custom | Custom |
PAM | ThreatLocker | $3,780 | $37,800 | $189,000 | $378,000 |
Email Security | Mimecast | $315 | $3,150 | $15,750 | $31,500 |
Endpoint Detection | CrowdStrike Falcon | $420 | $4,200 | $21,000 | $42,000 |
DLP | Netskope | $1,120 | $11,200 | $56,000 | $112,000 |
Insider Threat Detection | Code42 Incydr | $840 | $8,400 | $42,000 | $84,000 |
Secure Sharing | Kiteworks | $1,260 | $12,600 | $63,000 | $126,000 |
TPRM | Drata | $1,680 | $16,800 | $84,000 | $168,000 |
Security Ratings | SecurityScorecard | $3,360 | $33,600 | $168,000 | $336,000 |
GRC | Drata | $1,680 | $16,800 | $84,000 | $168,000 |
Vendor Assessment | Smarsh | $1,260 | $12,600 | $63,000 | $126,000 |
*The numbers in the above table are approximations.
Total Estimated Annual Cost:
10 Users: $55,769
100 Users: $200,740
500 Users: $525,950
1,000 Users: $822,900
The Hidden Costs
Beyond licensing fees, perimeter solutions demand heavy IT investment for configuration, maintenance, and user training. Even then, these solutions fall short, especially if your DLP system never transitions out of "monitoring mode". In fact, typically only 10% of DLP users get out of monitoring mode and even then, files often remain unencrypted and vulnerable.
File-Centric Model: Simpler, Smarter Security
Imagine achieving better data protection at a fraction of the cost and maintenance. A file-centric approach simplifies your stack dramatically while closing key security gaps. File-centric security models can integrate into your most basic security stack and provide ultimate data protection.
Tool Category |
Identity and Access Management (IAM) |
Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) |
Privileged Access Management (PAM) |
Email Security |
Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) |
File-Centric Security |
By reducing the number of tools and integration points, organizations benefit from:
Reduced operational overhead
Easier training and onboarding
Lower total cost of ownership (TCO).
In fact, organizations can expect to save anywhere from 25% to 50% of the cost of a typical perimeter security approach, all while increasing the security around the data.
Evaluating the Security Difference: Why File-Centric Security Wins
When comparing cybersecurity architectures, the difference isn’t just about cost savings; it’s about the effectiveness and resilience of the protection itself.
File-centric security redefines the quality of protection by addressing core vulnerabilities that perimeter-based approaches consistently miss.
File-centric security isn’t just a different tool—it’s a different architecture, purpose-built for today's threat landscape:
Feature | Security Advantage |
Persistent Encryption | Files remain encrypted at all times - at rest, in transit, and in use. No gaps. |
Context-Aware Access | Policies adapt based on who, where, when, and how the file is accessed. |
Real-Time Enforcement | Security travels with the file, not the network, which eliminates reliance on user action. |
Non-Disruptive UX | Users continue working within native apps (Word, Excel, etc.) without added friction. |
This design ensures security becomes automatic, invisible, and self-enforcing removing the human error factor from the equation.
Protection Against Today’s Top Threat Vectors
Network Breaches and Ransomware
Even if attackers breach the network, they gain access only to encrypted files, not usable data. This transforms ransomware from a devastating breach into a contained disruption with zero data loss.
Whether malicious or accidental, insiders cannot bypass file-level policies. Files remain encrypted and unusable if policy conditions aren't met, even if copied or moved outside the organization.
Encrypted files can be shared with vendors or partners without exposing underlying content. Even in an insecure environment, the data remains under your control, visible only through pre-defined access rules.
File-Centric Security is Simple to Set Up and Fast to Deploy
One of the most compelling aspects of file-centric security is how quickly it can be deployed within your existing perimeter architecture:
No complex network redesign.
No need for exhaustive classification schemes.
No disruption to users or workflows.
Easily integrates with your existing security stack.
Within a few hours, organizations can begin protecting their most sensitive files across departments, devices, and borders. A file-centric security platform can also seamlessly leverage any of the data classification work already completed.
A Smarter, Simpler Path to True Data Security
Perimeter security focuses on where the data is. File-centric security focuses on what the data is and makes sure it stays protected everywhere and at all times.
This shift eliminates blind spots, reduces risk, and provides true resilience against modern threats, without overwhelming your teams or your users.
FenixPyre’s File-Centric Security Platform
FenixPyre provides a comprehensive file-centric security solution, enhancing data security through advanced file encryption and dynamic access controls:
Military-Grade Encryption: Utilizes FIPS 140-2 validated AES-256 encryption, securing any file type, from standard office documents to specialized formats like CAD files.
Milliseconds of Latency: Every file is encrypted with a distinct encryption key. Encryption and decryption is optimized at a kernel-level implementation, with no noticeable impact to the client.
Strong and Performant Key Management: Every file key is encrypted and stored in a high-performance database. File keys can only be decrypted in a Hardware Security Module, where the master key is hosted. Customers can manage their own HSM. File contents are provably zero-knowledge to anyone outside of the client’s access list, including the possible external data management or cloud hosting solution.
Seamless User Experience: Offers frictionless integration into user workflows, ensuring files remain secure without impacting productivity.
Patented Dynamic and Context-Aware Access Controls: Implements robust role-based and location-based access restrictions and revocation capability, effectively reducing risk by controlling who can access files and under what conditions. Files remain protected even when stolen.
Comprehensive Compatibility: Supports encryption across various environments, including network shares, cloud storage platforms (SharePoint, AWS S3, Azure), and local file systems.
Real-Time Monitoring and Analytics: Integrates seamlessly with SIEM tools to provide real-time logs, behavioral analytics, anomaly detection, and proactive threat response capabilities, further enhancing organizational security posture. File-centric security shifts the security conversation from “who can access the network” to “who can access the data” and under what conditions. It’s a powerful, streamlined alternative to a bloated perimeter stack. And with FenixPyre, it’s simple to adopt and scale.
File-centric security doesn’t just reduce risk—it redefines control.
By encrypting sensitive files and enforcing access at the source, FenixPyre ensures your data stays protected no matter where it goes or who tries to access it. Even when someone is inside your network with valid credentials.
Ready to secure what matters most? Contact our team to start the conversation.
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© 2018-2025 FenixPyre Inc, All rights reserved

solutions
7775 Walton Parkway
Suite 224
New Albany, OH 43054

© 2018-2025 FenixPyre Inc, All rights reserved