Seriously, What Are My Odds of a Data Breach?

Unfortunately, your chances of experiencing a data breach are growing each year. In fact, the trends and shifts in awareness pertaining to data security are frightening to watch unfold. I read a recent study that polled adults in the US, UK and Australia that asked if the number of criminals trying to steal personal information is increasing. Not surprisingly, the survey indicated that 85% of respondents felt that it was.

We recently discussed why having a “Security First” mindset and approach is important, and as we look at what is happening with breaches, the importance is highlighted even more.

According to the ITRC (Identity Theft Resource Center), cyberattacks and breaches have grown both in frequency and in the amount of losses sustained. Here are some of the statistics as noted in their 2017 Executive Summary.

• Breaches again hit a new record in 2017, with 1,579 breaches tracked, up 44.7 percent from 1,091 in 2016, as businesses and government entities move toward timely reporting
• The number of records exposed rose to about 179 million, compared with 37 million in 2016
• Businesses saw 870 breaches (55% of the total)
• Medical/healthcare organizations were affected by 374 breaches (23.7 percent of total breaches)
• Banking/Credit/Financial saw 134 breaches (8.5%)

For a more detailed breakdown, you can see the year-over-year data breach numbers by sector and category.

Another key statistic from the report indicates that 59.3% of breaches were from hacking. Hacking includes methods such as phishing, malware and skimming.

With the number of breaches increasing and hacking being the number one method, it is clear that one area of your defense strategy needs to focus on identifying and mitigating the damage as quickly as possible.

Part of our “Security First” approach is to help arm all of our customers with additional ways to keep their customer or patient data safe. Our goal this year is to educate our customers about data breach risks and how they can start down the path to be “Security First.” An important component of that process will be encouraging them to take advantage of the security and monitoring tools in our Advanced Security Package.

If you’d like more information about other issues we see becoming more prevalent in the market, feel free to contact us or read about the dangers of ecommerce malware.

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