Causes of a Data Breach
The threat of data breaches is on the rise, with hackers more motivated than ever to acquire the highly valuable commodity that is, personal data. It’s clear that most businesses are still not prepared enough for the eventuality of a breach, nor do they have the processes and structure in place to minimise the risk.
Thousands of company files are still unprotected, and with the drastic rise in staff working from home, the threat from cyber criminals has never been so prevalent.
So what are the main causes of data breaches?
- 23.2 million victim accounts worldwide use 123456 as their password
- 95% of cloud security failures are due to customer error
- 70% of employees don't understand cybersecurity
- 21% of all files are not protected in any way
- Weak and stolen credentials (passwords)
- Back doors, applications vulnerabilities
- Malware (program or code that harms computer systems)
- Ransomware (when software gains access to and locks down access to vital data, for which a fee is then demanded)
- Phishing (sending of fraudulent emails that appear to be legitimate)
- Social engineering
- Too many permissions
- Insider threats (employee misuse of sensitive information)
- Improper configuration and user error
It’s more important than ever to ensure the correct processes are in place to protect your business from a data breach. Learn how to detect a data breach; bring in the experts, stay up to date with technology, use the right tools and educate your staff.
If you are to be successful in tackling cyber security risks, you need to know what to look out for. Discover how you can avoid such threats with our Managing Personal Data Breaches course. Ensure both you and your staff know how to manage a data breach if the worst should happen.
Avoiding ever having to deal with a data breach will not only help save money but it will also protect your reputation and help ensure you avoid penalties under the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).