How To Stop Data Breaches

Knowing how to prevent data alienation is important considering they have increased apace in recent years. For case, the 2020 FBI Net Law-breaking Written report shows that the Internet Offense Complaint Heart received more 790,000 data breach complaints in 2020 alone, whereas businesses reported losses not less than $4.one billion. According to the report, the complaints represented a sharp rise of 64% compared to the complaints made in 2019.

Also that, data alienation threats take become more sophisticated due to new technologies, such as artificial intelligence, motorcar learning, and 5G networks. As a result, cyberattacks are becoming harder to detect as the need to compromise secure networks and steal sensitive data increases.

Undeniably, the SolarWinds attack in 2020 is one of few high-profile breaches where hacker groups used sophisticated malware to steal sensitive data from the U.s. Departments of Commerce, Energy, State, and Justice. The attack and many others demonstrate ways enhanced cooperation between state actors and malicious hacker groups have contributed to rising data breach threats worldwide.

Agreement a Data Breach

A data breach can be summarized as unwanted or unauthorized access to confidential data, such as financial data, personal data, social security numbers, and credit card numbers. Due to increased reliance on digital technologies, information breaches can affect anyone or an organization. Essentially, data breaches occur due to weak user behavior, security flaws, or a lack of relevant security controls within a network or information system.

Currently, the data breach threat surface has expanded significantly equally near all human activities have become more connected through mobile devices, social media interactions, and the Internet of Things (proliferation). For instance, the race to control the IoT market shows that users in the mod era value convenience over robust security. With many vendors releasing digital products with insufficient data protection mechanisms, such as two-factor hallmark, encryption, and regular updates and patches, users are exposed to data breach threats every day.

On the other manus, even if all digital technologies had perfect data security capabilities, man errors would even so result in cyber-attacks, causing data exfiltration. As might be expected, humans are the weakest link in information security since they often autumn prey to social engineering tactics, such as opening phishing emails. Other practices, including sharing login credentials for critical user accounts, can result in ransomware attacks and theft of identifiable data.

Data Alienation Costs' Implication

A data breach can have adverse cost implications for a small business. A information security breach'due south cost comprises the directly and indirect expenses an organization incurs in remediating the resulting impacts. For instance, the direct costs include expenses similar potential settlements, outsourcing investigations to external forensics experts, and hotline support. On the other mitt, the indirect costs include expenses used in in-house investigations, lost business opportunities due to system downtime or data unavailability, and damaged reputation.

According to IBM Security and Ponemon Plant, the worldwide average toll of a data breach currently stands at $3.92 million. The cost has grown by 12% within the past five years, largely driven by challenges in mitigating the outcomes of a cyber-attack, increased cyber regulations, and devastating fiscal implications of a breach.

The following are additional statistics showing the possible financial implications of a data breach:

A data breach resulting from a Business organisation Email Compromise can price a company not less than $24,439 for each record.
Data compromised through malware attacks has the highest financial implications since they cost organizations $2.half dozen million. Other expensive data breaches include denial of service attacks and web-based attacks.
Organizations that implement information protection measures, among them integrating cybersecurity in the software development lifecycle, data loss prevention measures, and strong encryption, suffer lower costs. All-encompassing use of such data security measures reduces a data breach cost to an average of $360,000
A data breach can issue in lower share prices. According to experts, the share prices of breaches companies subtract by an estimated 14% only a few days after the alienation has occurred.
Almost $600 billion, which makes up shut to i% of the world Gross domestic product, is lost to security incidents every twelvemonth.

Common Data Alienation Methods in 2022

1. Ransomware Attacks

Ransomware is a malicious plan that hackers utilize to preclude companies from accessing crucial data systems and data. In a ransomware attack, attackers need a ransom to enable an organization to regain access and control over its data and networks. Ransomware attacks have increased in recent years due to emerging trends where malware developers create ransomware and charter to other criminals on what has been dubbed as ransomware every bit a service. During a ransomware attack, the attackers force the breached company to pay the ransom by threatening to leak sensitive information to various dark websites.

Ransomware attacks are dangerous data breaches due to several reasons. For example, companies that pay the ransom end up with data leaks and corrupted information. Moreover, ransomware attackers command affected information, systems, and networks preventing the afflicted organizations from conducting any concern activities. Also, a ransomware attack can ruin the reputation of the breached company since it ways malicious actors accept gained unauthorized admission and encrypted customer information using harmful software.

2. Phishing Attacks

Phishing attacks are among the nigh widely used methods in breaching sensitive data. Attackers entice users to click harmful links or attachments in phishing emails to install malware or reveal confidential data to protected user accounts, such as login credentials. Since phishing attacks require lilliputian expertise or equipment to execute, phishing attacks are prevalent in most companies.

Mutual targets of phishing emails include visitor executives and individual system users. Through phishing attacks, attackers tin can trick victims into installing spyware and data exfiltration malware that steals and uploads critical information to a remote server nether the hacker's control. In other cases, attackers use phishing attacks to gain unauthorized network admission by compromising the account security of phishing victims.

3. Insider Threats

Cybersecurity professionals consider insider threats to be among the most dangerous. Insider threats consist of individuals who misuse their access privileges to data systems and sensitive databases to commit cybercrimes. For instance, a disgruntled employee tin interact with malicious actors to provide them admission to intellectual properties.

However, insider threats can be intentional or accidental. Intentional insider threats are driven by motivations like monetary gain or revenge and may, therefore, instigate cybercrimes by using their access permissions to critical systems. On the other mitt, unintentional insider threats are users who, through ignorance or inadequate training and sensation, cause adventitious information breaches. Either way, insider threats are one of the biggest information alienation risks organizations should be concerned almost.

Best Practices for Preventing Data Breaches

The post-obit methods draw the best manner a business owner can preclude data breaches in their companies:

1. Employee Training and Sensation

Organization and data users are the weakest link in the implemented cybersecurity programs and the near vulnerable to data breach attacks. As such, enrolling employees inadequate information security training programs can help prevent data breaches from occurring. Employee training programs are essential in educating users on the recommended information security practices. A suitable user training program should sufficiently equip employees with the skills needed to find phishing emails and the security mistakes to avoid when using sensitive customer or business organisation information.

2. Endpoint Management

Since technology has become a vital aspect of contemporary business organization engagements, it is pertinent for companies to adopt acceptable methods to reduce the resulting data breach threats. Endpoint protection is a critical requirement needed to counter data breaches. Endpoints include all the devices employees can connect to a company's network to access or transmit confidential information. Organizations tin achieve network-wide visibility of all connected endpoints and command who can access which data through endpoint direction systems. Moreover, endpoint threat detection systems enable continuous monitoring of all data traffic flows and provide real-time alerts upon detecting suspicious behavior that can cause a information breach.

three. Modern Data Backup and Encryption

Well-nigh every business requires customer information to provide efficient services. Hence, information is the primary driver of business operations today and, therefore, the holy grail for most attacks. In this instance, companies must observe stringent information backup and encryption practices to ensure continuous data availability and authorized admission only, respectively.

For data backups, companies must ensure that employees make real-fourth dimension backups in a secure deject. Other backup methods, such as concrete media similar hard drives, are not every bit secure since they can be stolen or lost. At the same time, organizations must implement sufficient encryption schemes for data at residue, data in use, and data in transit. Encryption provides an added security layer since information technology ensures only users with the correct decryption keys can access the data.

4. Assess 3rd-Party Information Security Measures

The nature of mod businesses may necessitate an organization to share confidential data with third parties in the supply concatenation. As a upshot, the data may be used and stored in insecure environments, causing data breaches through a third party. Therefore, it is recommended that security teams perform detailed risk and vulnerability assessments to ascertain that the third parties accessing their sensitive data have achieved a stiff cybersecurity posture. More importantly, such assessments demonstrate an entity's serious intention regarding data protection to the external parties wishing to engage in any business activity.

5. Potent Countersign Security Policies

Password security is amid the near used data protection measure among companies and individuals. That said, business owners must enforce strong password security policies. At a minimum, the policies should require users to create complex passwords that are difficult to guess. Also, users should create unique passwords for different piece of work accounts and work-issued devices. Employees tin can hands log in to protected accounts without remembering the complex passwords by using a password manager.

6. Timely Patch Installation and System Updates

At the very least, an organization must protect its data assets using antivirus software and other security tools. Still, data breach prevention tools are useless if a company fails to install timely updates and security patches. Updating all computers and operating systems protects against attacks that seek to exploit unpatched vulnerabilities. In addition, maintaining up-to-date software eliminates all weak spots a hacker tin exploit by mitigating existing vulnerabilities.

seven. Restrict Access to Sensitive Information

In that location are several access control measures a visitor tin can use to limit who can access valuable information. However, the first step is classifying all organizational data according to sensitivity and value. The about sensitive data requires adopting robust data protection measures and admission control mechanisms to restrict unauthorized access. Organizations can restrict admission to sensitive data by knowing what personal information they have in their Information technology surroundings, scaling down information by keeping but what the business organisation needs, locking the information that the organization keeps, and creating a reliable plan to respond to security incidents.

George Mutune

I am a cyber security professional with a passion for delivering proactive strategies for day to day operational challenges. I am excited to be working with leading cyber security teams and professionals on projects that involve auto learning & AI solutions to solve the internet menace and cut through inefficiency that plague today'south concern environments.