The massive Equifax data breach last year has cost the company nearly $250 million in related expenses. Much of this cost has been covered by its cybersecurity insurance. But what about the customers? Who works to make amends and rebuild the trust of customers whose personal and financial information are exposed by these all-too-frequent data leaks?
From Applebee’s to Zippy’s to Aetna and Yahoo, it seems no company is immune and no information is safe from data leaks. These enterprises’ customers, however, are often the most vulnerable. Of particular concern is the fact that children are often victimized most by data breaches. A recent Javelin Strategies study indicates that more than a million children, many of whom were under 8 years old, were affected by identity fraud. Of the $2.6 billion amassed in fraud, families paid over $540 million out of their pockets. Children are desirable targets because of their “blank slate” identities with limited financial histories. Fraudsters can slowly develop networks of accounts over time using children’s identities without anyone taking much notice at first.
The implications of society’s most vulnerable shouldering the burden of fraud makes the work of data security that much more critical. If major corporations with all their resources cannot protect themselves, the future of data security can seem very bleak for the small company or even the individual. The adversaries are very sophisticated. For small businesses and startups, the risks of data leaks are tremendous. An attack that compromises company accounts or customer relationships can directly affect an entrepreneur's personal security and finances--and they’ve done nothing wrong except be exposed. Further, attackers know smaller companies won’t have access to the resources for recovery and defense that major corporations have.
To optimize your data security as a small player, you will need constant vigilance. You will need a threat hunter. Threat hunting entails proactive monitoring and neutralizing of network threats before they materialize. Using Bitlocker is also a wise move. Even if one of your or your company’s devices is stolen, only the authorized user can start the machine; removing the drive will make the attacker’s job harder.
For better or for worse, the learning never stops in information technology. We think it’s for better that we’ll be attending the Great New England Credit Union Show today to learn more about cyber security, the future of payments and much more to serve our clients. We look forward to meeting others in the credit industry there. Not able to make it?
Download the financial institutions white paper we’ll be distributing at our booth.