Data Breaches by the Numbers

Think your company isn’t vulnerable to a data breach? The numbers might convince you otherwise. Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report states there were 53,000 incidents and 2,216 confirmed data breaches last year. According to the report, the occurrence of ransomware attacks has increased by 50% compared to the previous year, making it the top malicious software. If that were not enough to frighten you, 37% of the malware discovered was unique and not replicated in other breaches. In the past, malware was installed through individual end user devices such as mobile phones and computers, but today’s sophisticated malware effects larger server equipment and uses worms.

Surprisingly, 28% of breaches involved internal agents including employees. Organized criminal groups make up 50% of the originators while 12% are nation-state or state-affiliated. Unfortunately, healthcare organizations are the highest on the list of victims with 24% affected followed by 15% accommodation and food services groups and 14% public sector entities.

While you’re thinking ‘it can’t happen to my company’, note that 58% of breaches were targeted towards small businesses. The tactics used overall were 58% hacking; 30% malware; 17% errors as casual events; 17% social attacks and 12% privilege misuse. Eleven percent involved physical actions on equipment itself. One common method used 49% of the time was installing malware via email.

You may be asking yourself ‘why would they attack my company?’ The report claims 76% of the breaches were financially motivated while 13% were considered espionage.

What’s your best line of defense? Your people and basic user hygiene practices. Before the malware reaches the end user, basic hygiene like security controls, multi-point entry and firewalls are crucial. In case something gets through, educate your employees to recognize potential phishing attempts in their emails. The report mentions 68% of the data breaches took months or longer to discover their occurrence. To avoid being blindsided and paying ransom, revisit your data security methods and have a backup strategy.

To learn how you can add an extra layer of security and prevent cyberattacks on your proprietary business data, check with Valeo Networks for a FREE Network Assessment (a $250 Value) to all companies, which includes a Data Security Analysis. Contact Valeo Networks at 800-584-6844 or via sales@saalexIT.com.

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