Security is arguably one of the most important aspects of big data. With such sensitive material as customers’ Social Security Numbers, medical records and credit cards floating throughout the cloud, innovative means of achieving protection and deep threat analysis are essential components for any well-run organization.

An “arms race” may seem a drastic metaphor for the battle between businesses involved in data management and those who want to defraud them, but it’s just this analogy with which John Walls (@JohnWalls21), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE’s mobile livestreaming studio, began his interview with Tony Parkinson (pictured, right), vice president of North America enterprise solutions and alliances at Dell EMC, Dell Technologies Inc.’s infrastructure group, and Nick Curcuru (pictured, left), vice president of the big data practice at MasterCard International Inc.

The trio spoke at this year’s Dell EMC World in Las Vegas Nevada, where they discussed the advantages of machine learning for data analysis and protection. (* Disclosure below.)

“When you look at fraud, it’s one of the biggest plays that the cyber attacks happen, because it’s an easy way to make money,” said Curcuru. MasterCard’s primary goal is ensuring people who use MasterCard are protected. “… We are stewards of what that person has trusted us with. We’re stewards of their data, … their experience they have with it. We want to always make sure … that they’re protected,” he added.

Machine learning takes on cyberfraud

The tools employed for data protection include a variety of technical deployments. The most efficient at present is machine learning, in particular, as augmented through Apache Hadoop, an open-source big data engine, according to Curcuru. It’s speed, storage capacity and ability to employ rule-sets are all part of its advantage over other analytic methods, he added.

“… For us, machine learning allows us to bring in the data so much faster,” Curcuru said. The speed of machine learning is also useful in allowing real-time threat analysis and prevention. “It’s not after the fact; it’s now, ‘I am going to prevent this up front if I can,'” he added.

Dell EMC is working with MasterCard and other organizations to combat cyberfraud. “If you look at the platform infrastructure that we’ve been providing for [MasterCard] to achieve those millisecond response times, that’s where the technologies that Dell has with our latest generation of compute platforms” come into play, Parkinson explained. He noted that Dell EMC is working closely with partners like Cloudera Inc. and Nvidia Corp. to integrate Dell’s platform and make an organization like MasterCard able to “go chase that experience down so the machine can learn faster.”

A convergence between tools like Hadoop and the process of machine learning are providing the benefits of data protection to organizations of all type. With the advent of open-source technology, for example, the experience can be a significantly less painful one, according to Parkinson.

“I think certainly it is a journey. And I think the deployment of machine learning is part of that journey,” Parkinson said.

Parkinson and Curcuru insist that if enterprises are willing to focus on narrower problems with their data, they are more likely to reap the rewards. “Start small,” Parkinson advised. “Don’t try to solve my entire data problem. Start off with a small chunk, and I can then measure results, then start building my skill set and knowledge, and start adding new parameters. … Start small and grow.”

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Dell EMC World 2017. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for Dell EMC World. Neither Dell EMC nor other sponsors have editorial influence on content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE