The stakes are higher than ever; and experts suggest that last year’s measures aren’t enough to protect data in the new year.
Buckle your cyber seatbelts. According to a new report, data breaches are at an all-time high and show no sign of letting up in 2020. “Companies should prioritize data breach prevention as well as responses, and now take it to the next level. It’s not acceptable anymore to simply focus on security and hope for the best,” states the report from Experian. The authors suggest that there are additional steps organizations can take to prepare, including investing in employee training to strengthen defenses, keeping informed about the latest threats, and planning for a quick response if a breach happens.
Watch for these data breach trends in the new year:
- Cybercriminals increasingly will target victims via “smishing,” a form of phishing where someone seeks private information via a text or other Short Message Services (SMS). Particularly in the upcoming election cycle, watch for fraudulent messages disguised as fundraising initiatives.
- As more free public Wi-Fi systems pop up throughout the country, hackers will increase the use of readily available drones to steal data from devices connected to unsecure networks.
- Cybercriminals will use “deepfake” video and audio technology to disrupt organizational operations and promote chaos and confusion. Deepfakes are audio or video clips that take a person’s likeness or voice and replace it with another using artificial neural networks.
- Expect to see data breaches in cannabis, cryptocurrency, and environmental industries used as protests and a form of online activism.
- The influx of mobile payment options is likely to result in more identify theft.
- Biometric security systems remain difficult to hack, but attackers are likely to target these in the new year. It will be necessary to shore up vulnerabilities in touch ID sensors, facial recognition, and passcodes.
- Financial institutions are constantly fighting off attempted attacks. In 2020, enterprise-wide attacks on major financial organizations—potentially resulting in millions in losses—are a real threat.
- It’s a matter of when, not if, a top cloud vendor will suffer a breach, compromising the sensitive information of major companies.
There is no magic formula or one-size-fits-all solution to data breaches. However, implementing steps to create greater system security and swifter, better response if a hack occurs, will help minimize any damage.
