Since January of 2005, 562,943,732 records that contain very personal information have been breached in 3,241 incidents of data breach. (Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, July 2012). DataLossDB shared information that that in 2011, 1,037 data breaches happened and in 2012, about 783 have occurred so far.
The total loss from compromised data in 2011 was 5.5 million USD per company (Ponemon Institute and Symantec, March 2012) while its projected that this type of crime will continue to grow up to the year 2016.
Data breach is known to be the non-deliberate or deliberate outflow of highly-secured information into an unprotected system. Its also known as data spill or unintentional disclosure of information or data leakage. It could be a minor or a major release of data, may involve personal to financial information or could even contain top secret information held by large companies or government agencies.
In this highly technological world, it is highly possible to lose data through computers and the Internet, especially when the information is unencrypted. Emails and social media accounts can be accessed easily if they are unsecure. There are professionals who spend time and resources just to break valuable codes and passwords so as to obtain the information they need.
Causes of Data Breaches
When personal information is compromised, one must know how the data breach occurred. Some possible causes are:
1. Negligent employees or insiders in certain companies and agencies: The employees themselves tend to divulge valuable information that compromises the safety and security of the entire company. There may be personal agendas or buying out deals that happen on the side;
2. Malicious hack attacks: More than a third of the cases of breached data are caused by hackers. The damages are very costly indeed. Until this very day, agencies, organizations, and companies need to re-evaluate their systems and policies to deal with such people.
What to Do to Remedy or Prevent Breaches in Information
Maintaining the integrity of any system is valuable. Here are some of the ways to do so:
a) Data protection
b) Orient the employees about the procedures and regulations on data protection
c) Classify and identify top-secret information
d) Apply means of protection or security against intruders
e) Establish firewalls
f) Acquire and deploy technologies in preventing data loss
g) Encrypt computers
h) Authenticate by two factor method
i) Integrate practices of data protection into company or organizational processes
How Stolen Identity Cases Take Place Through Infiltrated Systems
Data can be compromised through any of the possible situations:
When personal and financial information including Social Security Numbers are hacked
The banks computer backup data is lost while shipped into storage
Any employee in any establishment gathers information about a client through personal records and sells the information
A team of imposters work with criminals to collect valuable personal information
An electronic gadget that contains valuable data could have been stolen
Establishments, where breaches in information took place, usually inform their clients about what had happened. But this practice depends on the gravity of the situation. If the data lost will lead to financial losses, then they would definitely inform their patrons about it.
What You Should Do If Your Information is Compromised
It can be very alarming if personal and financial information are exposed to anyone. If this happens, do not panic. Although a system has been breached, it doesnt necessarily follow that one will surely be an unsuspecting victim of the dreaded identity theft. The following are some steps to consider:
Find out the type of data breach that has occurred
Work with the company or organization in which Personal information has been breached. They will assist in dealing with the process of remedying the situation.
It would help if an identity protection service is acquired.
Make sure that the false data in your credit report is clarified
Establish a fraud alert with credit card reports
Contact the departments that hold licenses and cards immediately about what had happened
Monitor credit reports
Security Freeze It
Known as the highest level of identity theft protection, security freezing enables an individual to prevent anyone from taking hold of personal credit files unless a go signal is given to the credit company to release the reports. Even so, it would be to that persons inconvenience if he or she is about to rent an apartment, seek a new job, or apply for a new credit line. A request for the credit company to lift it after a certain number of days should be made.
Data breaches are serious situations that need to be addressed especially when personal and financial information are compromised. Please share this article and your thoughts so as to help others deal with similar circumstances.
The total loss from compromised data in 2011 was 5.5 million USD per company (Ponemon Institute and Symantec, March 2012) while its projected that this type of crime will continue to grow up to the year 2016.
Data breach is known to be the non-deliberate or deliberate outflow of highly-secured information into an unprotected system. Its also known as data spill or unintentional disclosure of information or data leakage. It could be a minor or a major release of data, may involve personal to financial information or could even contain top secret information held by large companies or government agencies.
In this highly technological world, it is highly possible to lose data through computers and the Internet, especially when the information is unencrypted. Emails and social media accounts can be accessed easily if they are unsecure. There are professionals who spend time and resources just to break valuable codes and passwords so as to obtain the information they need.
Causes of Data Breaches
When personal information is compromised, one must know how the data breach occurred. Some possible causes are:
1. Negligent employees or insiders in certain companies and agencies: The employees themselves tend to divulge valuable information that compromises the safety and security of the entire company. There may be personal agendas or buying out deals that happen on the side;
2. Malicious hack attacks: More than a third of the cases of breached data are caused by hackers. The damages are very costly indeed. Until this very day, agencies, organizations, and companies need to re-evaluate their systems and policies to deal with such people.
What to Do to Remedy or Prevent Breaches in Information
Maintaining the integrity of any system is valuable. Here are some of the ways to do so:
a) Data protection
b) Orient the employees about the procedures and regulations on data protection
c) Classify and identify top-secret information
d) Apply means of protection or security against intruders
e) Establish firewalls
f) Acquire and deploy technologies in preventing data loss
g) Encrypt computers
h) Authenticate by two factor method
i) Integrate practices of data protection into company or organizational processes
How Stolen Identity Cases Take Place Through Infiltrated Systems
Data can be compromised through any of the possible situations:
When personal and financial information including Social Security Numbers are hacked
The banks computer backup data is lost while shipped into storage
Any employee in any establishment gathers information about a client through personal records and sells the information
A team of imposters work with criminals to collect valuable personal information
An electronic gadget that contains valuable data could have been stolen
Establishments, where breaches in information took place, usually inform their clients about what had happened. But this practice depends on the gravity of the situation. If the data lost will lead to financial losses, then they would definitely inform their patrons about it.
What You Should Do If Your Information is Compromised
It can be very alarming if personal and financial information are exposed to anyone. If this happens, do not panic. Although a system has been breached, it doesnt necessarily follow that one will surely be an unsuspecting victim of the dreaded identity theft. The following are some steps to consider:
Find out the type of data breach that has occurred
Work with the company or organization in which Personal information has been breached. They will assist in dealing with the process of remedying the situation.
It would help if an identity protection service is acquired.
Make sure that the false data in your credit report is clarified
Establish a fraud alert with credit card reports
Contact the departments that hold licenses and cards immediately about what had happened
Monitor credit reports
Security Freeze It
Known as the highest level of identity theft protection, security freezing enables an individual to prevent anyone from taking hold of personal credit files unless a go signal is given to the credit company to release the reports. Even so, it would be to that persons inconvenience if he or she is about to rent an apartment, seek a new job, or apply for a new credit line. A request for the credit company to lift it after a certain number of days should be made.
Data breaches are serious situations that need to be addressed especially when personal and financial information are compromised. Please share this article and your thoughts so as to help others deal with similar circumstances.
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