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As we begin the new year, companies are continuing to survey the ever-changing data-breach landscape and assess their own preparedness for the worst. And with data security threats becoming more complex, sophisticated, and diverse every year, it is no small task. For those of you wondering what data breach trends might look like this year, and what to do to avoid them, Experian Data Breach Resolution, drawing on its experience with over 17,000 data breaches over the last decade, offered the following five predictions in its 2017 Data Breach Industry Forecast:

Aftershock password breaches will expedite the death of the password.

  • What and Why: Companies will face the consequences of previous data breaches, as username and password information breached years prior (and often from an unrelated company) is continued to be sold through darknet markets.
  • The Takeaway: Companies should consider (1) using multi-factor authentication to verify users to help solve the password reuse problem; (2) accounting for aftershock breaches in their data-breach response plans; and (3) educating customers about resetting their passwords and about the broader risk associated with password reuse across websites.

Nation-state cyberattacks will move from espionage to war.

  • What and Why: Cyberattacks by hackers sponsored by foreign nations will likely continue to increase and escalate. Although these attacks are motivated by the desire to gain intelligence, they will lead to collateral damage to consumers and businesses through widespread outages or exposure of personal information.
  • The Takeaway: Businesses should prepare for large-scale attacks, particularly if they are a part of critical infrastructure, by staying vigilant about their security measures and by considering purchasing proper insurance protection.

Healthcare organizations will be the most targeted sector with new, sophisticated attacks emerging.

  • What and Why:
    • Medical identity theft will remain cybercriminals’ top target, as medical information is lucrative and easy to exploit.
    • Experian predicts that in the new year mega breaches will move on from focusing on healthcare insurers to distributed hospital networks, which might have more security challenges compared to centralized organizations.
    • Experian also predicts that electronic health records (EHRs) will likely be a primary target for attackers, since EHRs are widely used and are likely to touch a compromised computer.
    • The top breach vector will likely be ransomware because a disruption of healthcare system operations could be catastrophic and most organizations would rather opt to simply pay the ransom than fight the attack. According to the recent Office of Civil Rights (OCR) guidance, depending on the facts, ransomware attacks may be classified as breaches and require notification under the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule, in accordance with 45 CFR 164.404.
  • The Takeaway: Healthcare organizations need to ensure they have proper, up-to-date security measures in place, including data-breach response plans in the event of a ransomware attack and adequate employee training about the importance of security.

Continue Reading Top Five Data Breach Trend Predictions for 2017

We have all heard this before, but just how bad things really are? According to Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigations Report (“DBIR”), insider and privilege misuse was once again one of the leading causes of incidents and breaches in 2015, accounting for 10,489 total incidents, 172 with confirmed data disclosure. Some of this misuse is perpetrated by malicious actors driven by motivation of financial gain and some of it is due to actions of well-meaning employees who either lacked cybersecurity awareness or simply made a mistake.

While there are no perfect answers for addressing the multitude of possible insider attacks, which can range from privilege abuse, to data mishandling, to the use of unapproved hardware, software, and workarounds, to email misuse, implementing the steps below can go a long way in reducing the risks.

Five Steps to Reduce Insider MisuseContinue Reading Employers, Your Worst Cybersecurity Threat May Already Be on Your Payroll

On February 16, 2016, California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris released the California Data Breach Report 2012-2015 (the “Report”), which provided a comprehensive analysis of the data breaches reported to the Attorney General’s office during the covered years, as well as set forth concrete recommendation for minimum data security that would be considered “reasonable” under California law.

According to the Report, in the past four years, the Attorney General has received reports on 657 data breaches, affecting a total of over 49 million records of Californians. These breaches occurred in all sectors of the economy. The greatest threat to security, both in the number of breaches and the number of records breached, was presented by malware and hacking, followed by physical breaches, breaches caused by insider errors, and breaches caused by insider misuse. The most breached data types were Social Security numbers and medical information.Continue Reading Definition of “Reasonable” Information Security in California