Data breaches are not a new thing. They flow with improvement in technology. You are not the only one that gets excited about advances in technology. Bad guys are too. They are always thinking of ways to use technology to game other people. This is why you must be informed on how you can protect yourself in this era of intelligent technology.
Gone are the days when data was stolen from credit cards via a scam called skimming. Skimming took place by illegal swiping of credit through portable pager-looking devices. One swipe would compromise the entire data of an unwary person. Skimming was widespread in the late 1990s, and look at how sophisticated it was. With technology, scams have become even more complex and deadlier.
Studies show that there is a slight chance that your business will suffer an attack. From 2017 till 2020, there have been more than 1,000 breaches per year in the United States alone. These breaches have seen an exposure that averages around 200 million, with the highest being over 400 million in 2018. No business is safe, not even a best paper writing service. Even communication tech giants like Google, Facebook, and Twitter have faced some measure of data breaches.
Ordinarily, one would think that there would be a reduction in breaches, but they are not. One of the many reasons for this is that some businesses do not understand what data breaches. Thankfully, this post will address what data breaches are and how companies can learn from them to secure their future. Read on to appreciate what data security is and how they can reach you, as recommended by best essay writing service reviews.
Understanding Data Breaches?
Understand this about data breaches. They can ruin a lot of things. The problems arising from a data beach can cause extreme unfortunate events. Know this. Bad guys will do all they can to access your data. So, you can’t leave anything to chance when it comes to protecting data
A data breach is an event that leads to the exposure of private, sensitive, and protected data to a hacker or any other similar person. A data breach is an illegal interference into one’s data privacy. A data breach could be stealing your bank details, health information, credit card numbers, etc.
Data breaches occur through gaps in technology, reckless protection by the data owner, and relentless attacks by hackers. When we say technology here, we mean that some techs with obvious errors can readily accommodate bad guys. These vulnerabilities in technology make us wonder whether experts are more concerned with building new tech than solidifying the already existing ones. When we say reckless protection by data owners, some owners usually share bits and pieces of their data online. These data often think their piecemeal revelations are harmless and end up falling into the traps of hackers. Sometimes, bad guys don’t need people to make mistakes or wait for a gap in technology. They go after businesses and people actively to steal data.
How Data Breaches Happen
There are various ways Data Breaches can happen, and you’ll see that it is not all the time that hackers cause these breaches.
- An Unknowing Employee.
Some employees don’t understand the gravity of not revealing bits and details of their data to people. For instance, some employees use their laptops with public WiFi, unknowingly compromising their data and observing hackers. Another example is employees having weak usernames and passwords, which hackers can quickly guess. Also, some employees can unknowingly download malware into their devices, giving hackers a field day in comprising their data and company data.
- A Conniving Employee
Some employees work with hackers to get access to a company. For instance, skimming scams worked well because employees would help hackers swipe customer details in the skimming pager.
- Stolen or Lost Business Devices
A laptop or hard drive containing sensitive information about your business could lead to compromised cybersecurity.
- Active Attempts by Hackers
These are data breaches caused by attacks using various means without being supported by any employee. Active attempts by hackers to cause a data breach could include the following ways;
Phishing
Recall that we mentioned that employees could unknowingly cause data breaches. Phishing fools an employee into causing a data breach. To achieve this, hackers act as organizations or people, just to deceive you.
Brute Force Attacks
Here, hackers try to guess your password using specific software and even infect your devices with malware to make the process quicker.
Malware
Malware exploits the technical gaps in your devices—malware probes at security issues in your servers, devices, and network.
Learn From Data Breaches to Inform Cybersecurity Future.
Educate Your Employees
Employees can be unknowing accessories when it comes to data breaches. They are the ones that open harmful mails and download malware that could hurt your company. Train your employees regularly on being safe and reward them for participating in the training.
Limit Employee Access to Critical Data
Critical and valuable data should be limited to certain employees. Being an employee shouldn’t be an automatic pass to know everything about a company. When you do this, you reduce the risk of nonchalant employees clicking on and downloading from malicious links.
Choose Quality Third-Party Vendors
We are not saying you should be wary of your third-party vendors, but they should comply with your security requirements. Dealing with third-party vendors can be unavoidable, but it doesn’t mean you should set your business up for harm.
The nature of security breaches does not allow you to take people’s word for it. You have to ensure compliance. Also, limit the third-party access vendors can have to your files. Your company should keep sensitive files away from them. If you can’t restrict files they have access to, then ensure that the third-party vendor has secure software and is transparent in their dealings.
Update Regularly
You should update your security regularly to stay ahead of hackers. Updates help improve the functionality of your app and reduce the security risk that could have shown over time.
Author Bio:
Jessica Chapman is a writing editor from Chicago who has edited for online assignment help. She is also a coordinator of a college paper writing service. She is into sport and politics, enjoys traveling.
