The cost of a data breach is on the rise. The average breach costs over $6 million, while the global costs of cybercrime are expected to reach $10 trillion by 2025. How can companies reduce the risk of a data breachs? Read on to learn about common causes and effective security controls. Also, read about the importance of two-factor authentication. Here are three tips to prevent a data breach.
Cost of a data breach
According to a report by the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach will increase by 29.3% by 2022, and healthcare organizations will spend the most. Costs will rise even faster in organizations that adopt a remote work model, as those with more than 50 percent of employees working remotely will take nearly six months longer to detect and contain a data breach. The healthcare industry will pay the highest cost of a data breach for the eleventh consecutive year. Overall, the cost of a data breach is primarily due to the lost business associated with a breach, which includes costs such as customer turnover and acquisition of new business.
A recent report by IBM found that cybercriminals are targeting the healthcare industry and remote workers, as COVID-19 spread throughout the world. Companies that fail to protect customer data will face fines of up to EUR20 million, or four percent of worldwide turnover. Even worse, some countries will prosecute individuals involved in a data breach, which will result in imprisonment. Therefore, it is imperative to invest in data security.
In a recent report by the Ponemon Institute, the average cost of a data breach will double the average cost in the US. Companies will benefit from powerful cybersecurity resources, as data breaches are becoming increasingly complex and costly. In the US, a strong cybersecurity front is essential for the protection of internal data. The resulting security will save companies money and time. So what should a business do to prepare for these threats?
According to the Ponemon Institute, the global average cost of a data breach will increase by 10% in 2021. Companies will spend an average of $4.24 million, compared to $3.83 million in 2020, according to the report. However, this average will be higher in the US, where the cost of a data breach will increase by 5.49 percent annually by 2022. However, there are still many companies that aren’t ready to invest in security measures.
Common causes of data breaches
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), data breaches increased by double digits in the first quarter of 2022, and ransomware and phishing were the top causes of compromises. As of Q1 of 2022, only 38% of breaches were traced to a specific cause. Cyberattacks, mistakes, and human error accounted for the rest. However, it’s worth noting that phishing was the leading cause of data compromises in 2021, with malware and phishing being the two most common attacks of that time.
The cost of data breaches is also on the rise. In fact, organizations that didn’t adapt to the threat of data breaches are now paying an average of $5.01 million for each breach – nearly twice the global average. And if organizations don’t take proactive steps to protect their data, hackers will continue to exploit the vulnerabilities in their systems. The costs associated with data breaches have reached record highs, and mitigating these losses will require a comprehensive approach to attack surface management.
The average data breach response time is 1-2 days. Nearly 40 percent of companies have a minimum of four compromised websites each month. Eighty percent of hacking incidents involve internal actors. Ransomware accounts for twenty-four percent of malware incidents. In 2016, more than 95 percent of breaches were in the retail, technology, and government sectors. This makes companies of all sizes vulnerable to attack. By knowing the causes of data breaches, companies can take steps to prevent them from happening.
The first cause of data breaches is human error. People are prone to mistakes. An employee could accidentally send a list of customers to the wrong person or send confidential information to an outside source. The employee didn’t realize that the email recipient list contained proprietary information. A simple mistake can lead to a massive data breach. The next causes of data breaches are listed below. If you want to prevent a data breach, start by implementing a secure password policy.
In addition to ransomware attacks, hackers are targeting the healthcare industry. In the United States, over 80 percent of data breaches originate from the healthcare sector, where hacking is most common. The average time between an attack and disclosure was seventy five days. Moreover, the healthcare industry is the biggest victim of third-party attacks. There were 58 million companies in the healthcare industry alone in 2021. This is a large number, and it’s clear that the threat is growing.
Effectiveness of security controls
The effectiveness of security controls will have to evolve to keep up with emerging threats. Cyberattacks will be fuelled by compromised identities, with an increasing proportion of accounts non-human. This will eliminate the need to hack in, and cyber adversaries can log in with stolen or phished credentials. As organizations attempt to address the rising risk of data breaches, they need to look beyond traditional security monitoring to manage a broader set of security exposures.
Almost half of data breaches were not caused by human error. Instead, hackers used brute force or phishing to gain access to a company’s systems. This makes it all the more important for business owners to stay informed of emerging risks. In 2025, cybercrime costs will total $10.5 trillion, growing 15 percent each year. Many breaches are caused by vulnerabilities in biometric information, such as a faulty fingerprint scan.
Another type of attack is known as a “watering hole” attack. These attacks target a specific industry or group of users by misleading them into visiting malicious websites. Once they are inside, they can steal data and access networks. For this reason, it is critical to update security controls and data governance practices to ensure that these threats are kept at bay. Companies also need to make sure that permissions are properly controlled.
Effectiveness of security controls to prevent data breaches is vital to protect personal information and sensitive information. In many cases, the data is obtained without permission. This can happen through hacking, social engineering, or even physical hard drive loss. In some cases, the data is obtained through ransomware – a type of cyberattack where the attacker locks access to vital data and demands payment in cryptocurrency. In addition to hackers gaining access to data, cybercriminals may also use ransomware to take control of computers.
Implementation of two-factor authentication
While the amount of cybercrimes continues to rise every year, only half of businesses have implemented two-factor authentication (2FA). This lack of awareness may have something to do with the fact that only half of businesses currently use the service. However, the increased risk of data breaches warrants that businesses begin implementing 2FA. Read on to learn how to implement two-factor authentication and prevent data breaches in the near future.
When implementing two-factor authentication, you must have a device with an e-mail address and a mobile phone number. Using a smartphone, an authenticator app, or both, is the best solution. It provides another level of security to an account and prevents hackers from gaining access to personal information. Many users don’t know how to create a two-factor authentication system, and they don’t trust this method because they think it’s “childish.”
Two-factor authentication requires users to enter a code to log into a website or online account, which is sent to their email in a specified time frame. If one method is lost or stolen, the other method is used. When selecting a two-factor authentication provider, make sure they have global reach and support various networks, hubs, and country codes. Ultimately, two-factor authentication solutions should be easy to implement and use.
Despite these benefits, there are several disadvantages to using 2FA. Two-factor authentication is vulnerable to several hacker attacks. Because the code is sent through an unreliable third party medium, it is not always guaranteed to arrive on time. Furthermore, the security of SMS messages depends on the provider’s reliability. As a result, two-factor authentication can only be considered a temporary fix for a security breach.
Another disadvantage of not implementing two-factor authentication is that it requires the user to supply two separate forms of identification. One of these forms of identification requires an email address, a phone number, or a fingerprint. However, this approach is also not foolproof, and hackers can get access to sensitive information. By 2022, many websites and organizations will adopt two-factor authentication (TFA).
