Data breaches are a growing security concern for all businesses. Regardless of the size of a business, anyone can become the target of a data breach. In some cases, a breach occurs accidentally with no pre-planned malicious goal. So how can businesses protect their data against advanced attacks and accidents alike?
In this article, we’ll look at data breaches and how they happen. We’ll also discuss a few solutions you can implement, such as a residential proxy that can hide your real residential IP, training programs, and more.
We’ll be covering the following topics related to data breaches in this article:
- What is a data breach?
- How to avoid a data breach
What Is A Data Breach?
A data breach is when data is copied, shared, changed, or stolen by an individual who isn’t authorized to do so. In some cases, this occurs through malicious attacks where hackers exploit vulnerabilities within your security and gain access to your system, network, and files. In other cases, a data breach can be caused by employees leaving systems open, sharing passwords, or even sending sensitive files to the wrong person.
Data breaches are serious. The privacy threat posed by data breaches is so high that businesses can face a penalty of 2% of the annual turnover if a data breach occurs and it appears the business didn’t follow protocols to avoid the risk.
Causes Of A Data Breach
Data breaches can be caused in the following ways:
- Weak or stolen login credentials
- Application vulnerabilities
- Malware
- Social engineering, such as phishing attacks
- Employees have too much access and too many permissions
- Insider threats
- Physical attacks such as device theft
- User error
Recent Data Breaches
Let’s take a look at a couple of recent data breaches.
Cash App
In April, Block (formerly known as Square) announced that CashApp had been the victim of a data breach caused when a disgruntled ex-employee stole data. The stolen information included customers’ names, brokerage account numbers, portfolio information, etc. There is no idea exactly how many individuals have been affected by the leak, but eight billion people have been notified so far.
GiveSendGo
In February, hackers hijacked the GiveSendGo website, which is a Christian fundraising platform. All visitors were redirected to another site that condemned the Canadian Freedom Convoy protestors. The hackers then posted the personal details of all these individuals who made donations to the Freedom Convoy. This affected at least 90 000 individuals.
Crypto.com
In January, hackers gained access to 483 users’ wallets on Crypto.com. The attackers stole approximately $18 million in Bitcoin and approximately $15 million in Ethereum. Initially, Crypto.com described the event as an incident and stated that no one’s cryptocurrency was stolen. However, they later admitted it was a breach and proceeded to refund affected individuals while also promising users that they were working to improve security.
How To Avoid A Data Breach?
There are a few different ways that businesses can avoid data breaches. Try implementing as many different security measures to weave a web of security to protect your business against breaches.
Employee Training
Employee training is critical. You cannot expect employees to protect data if they don’t understand how breaches occur or the best ways to prevent them. Employee training is a vital part of arming your employees with the knowledge and tools to work with, respect, and protect company data properly.
Proxies
A residential proxy is a great tool to provide added security to your network. A residential proxy hides the user’s IP address behind one of its own. As such, the real IP isn’t visible to websites or hackers. Since the network is protected behind the residential proxy, hackers won’t be able to exploit vulnerabilities within your network through the IP address.
Restricting Access
Many businesses have their accounts, files, and systems open to all employees, including ones that may not need access to certain areas. To avoid the potential of accidental breaches, it’s recommended that you only give access to systems and files to the employees who need them for their work.
Antivirus and Malware Protection
Strong antivirus and malware protection is essential to protect your system and files against various viruses and other attacks.
Strong Password Policy
A strong password policy ensures that all employees use strong, unique passwords. This policy will clarify everything required for a strong password, how frequently it should be updated, etc.
Frequents Updates And Backups
Data should be backed up frequently to have a secure copy of it available in the case of a data breach, ransomware attack, or hardware failure. Similarly, updates to your operating systems and programs need to happen as soon as a patch is released to ensure any vulnerabilities are addressed.
Final Thoughts
Data breaches are becoming all too common, with 45% of US companies reportedly experiencing a data breach within the last year. As such, it’s more important than ever for businesses to implement security measures to protect their data. No business is exempt from a branch. Individuals, small businesses, and even large corporations are potential data breach targets.
Source: Plato Data Intelligence: PlatoData.io