Data breaches are detrimental to the foundation and integrity of a business. Profit margins, lawsuits, and damages, are a few examples of how your firm’s reputation can be tarnished. The most stressful aspects of a data breach isn’t the breach itself, it’s the fact that you’re not in the right to know the extent of the damage, until it’s all over. With that being said, there has been a good amount of research and investigations into the trends for these attacks, which helps IT administrators in evaluating the risks of breaches and failures, in hopes of mitigating the presence of these threats in the future. Here at RHYNO Networks, our team works tirelessly to study these data security trends and statistics in order to better assist our consumers with creating custom plans. Let’s evaluate the latest data breach statistics and how it can prepare your business for prioritizing safety.

How Do Data Breaches Happen?

Before we look at the latest statistics, it’s important to understand why these breaches occur in the first place. For starters, when cybercriminals bypass a data source and obtain confidential information, this constitutes a data breach. This can be achieved by gaining access to a computer or network where the files are located. Breaches can even happen remotely. Many of these attacks are classified as malware attacks or hacking, but other examples include payment card fraud, insider leaks, loss, or theft of a hard drive.

When it comes to the methods for attacking businesses, these can include the following:

Ransomware: This is the software that can gain access and restrict access to valuable data. In order to gain back access to these files and systems, the attacker will demand a form of payment. Companies that are most commonly targeted for these are enterprises.

Malware: Also known as “malicious software”, this is when a program or code probes a system in a harmful manner. The malware is meant to harm your computer and software, but it may not come off this way and could be moonlighting as a solution or warning against harmful software. The “warning” will try to entice users to download all kinds of software. If this happens, your computer’s information will be hijacked.

Phishing: Phishing is a more common method for hackers to get access to confidential information. The process occurs through fraudulent emails that appear to be from a reputable organization, but their goal is to deceive the recipients into clicking a link or downloading an infected attachment.

Denial of Service (DoS): Denial of service is a cyber-attack in which the attacker will attempt to make a machine or network resource unavailable for its users, by interrupting the services of a host that has maintained an internet connection up until that point. The system will be flooded with excessive messages in order to overwhelm the the systems, preventing requests from being fulfilled.

Latest In Data Breaches & Statistics

In 2020, there were 3950 reported cases of data breaches. Let’s look at a few of the severe data security breaches and how it can encourage others to oversee the protection of their sensitive information.

In January of 2020, a customer support database for Microsoft that possessed over 280 million customer records was left vulnerable on the web.

In February of 2020, it was reported that over 10 million guests who have stayed at the MGM resorts, have had their personal info posted on hacking forums.

It was reported in April of 2020 that the login credentials of over 500,000 Zoom accounts were posted for sale on the dark web.

These are a few examples of the many case breaches that have taken place in the past year. To see who else was impacted, you can see the findings IdentityForce has compiled.

Preventing Data Breaches

When working towards preventing data breaches, your business needs to be fully aware of the sensitive data that is collected, stored, transmitted, or processed. Cybercriminals can sell your personal information on the dark web. Information like your name, address, income, social security number, are some components of personal information that others can easily gain access to. Once you’ve determined which data is deemed “sensitive”, your team can regroup with your IT vendors to discuss the execution of risk assessments, data backup, and encryption, properly training your staff, etc. Follow these steps and your business will have the resources needed for long-term protection.

Working With The Professionals For Date Security Protocols

Interested in partnering with a seasoned vendor to handle your network and security issues? Our team at RHYNO Networks is committed to helping your firm find the solutions it needs to protect your structural integrity. For more information on how to get started, contact us today to learn more!