Data Breaches

Data breaches is a term that our society is becoming all too familiar with. They have been occurring more often throughout the past couple of years. An article titled “Data Breaches Keep Privacy & Security Lawyers Increasingly Busy and Looking for Recruits” written by Steven T. Taylor (2012) states “those in the business of cybercrime and protecting against cybercrime may think of 2011 as the year of the breach.”(p. 2) Cyber security has always been a big issue but the more breaches there were the more serious of an issue it became. In 2011 these data breaches affected huge companies and corporations such as Citigroup, Lockheed Martin and many others. The article discusses that it is hard to know whether these data breaches were being done from the inside or not. Not being able to determine the source of these major leaks is a scary thought. These breaches affect more than just the company and the people directly involved.

Consumers and investors are going to be turned away from companies that are having security issues and as the article states, lawyers are being kept very busy. According to Taylor (2012) “They’re working long hours to keep up to date on a river of new regulations flowing from Washington and state legislatures, advise clients on ways to prevent such e-spills, perform triage when breaches happen, and conduct a range of other activities.” (p. 2) Not only, are businesses losing money when breaches happen because people do not want to have relations with that company anymore, they also have to spend money on lawyers to help protect themselves against any future issues that may arise. Data breaches and cyber-attacks are a major issue and yet things such as password security are still too weak. Making a password for websites and accounts is unavoidable. People mix up their passwords and often times make them easy so they can remember them. Unfortunately, this is a huge mistake.

Passwords need to be complex, they need to have lower case and capital letters as well as numbers in symbols. By having a stronger password it makes the job of a hacker more difficult but, security should not solely depend on a password. In the article, “Password Security Remains the Weakest Link Even After Big Data Breaches” author Fahmida Rashid (2011) shares with us that “Security experts recommend taking a multilayered approach to security. Instead of relying on a single point of failure, organizations should be implementing several mechanisms to make it harder for cyber attackers to steal sensitive, confidential data.” (p. 38). The more layers of protection the better. There is no such thing as total protection from cyber-crimes. But, by making data harder to reach and using multiple layers of protection will fend off some hackers because the work is greater than the payoff (Rashid, 2011 p.38) Although, just because getting through a system is difficult does not mean that a determined hacker will not get through.

When it comes to security it is all about making the other person’s task as hard as possible to complete. In the article “Cracking the Code on Cyber Crimes” the author Kelly Liyaka (2012) states “The general consensus among security experts is that cyber theft will perpetuate because of the nature of the Internet.” (p. 38). This is why it is detrimental to take the proper protection and security measures. Liyaka (2012) shares that “Experts say that failing to implement security measures for your business can be a little like driving without insurance in hopes that you’ll avoid a crash.” (p. 39). Driving without insurance is a dumb move and so is conducting a business or sharing private without any cyber security.

References:

Curses! Hacked Again. (2014). Consumer Reports, 79(11), 16
Liyakasa, K. (2012). Cracking the Code on Cyber Crimes. CRM Magazine, 16(9), 36-40 Rashid, F. Y. (2011). Password Security Remains the Weakest Link After Big Data Breaches. Eweek 28(11), 38-39 Taylor, S. T. (2012). Data Breaches Keep Privacy-&-Security Lawyers Increasingly Busy and Looking for Recruits. 31(2), 1-18 Weiss, S. (2011). Tempting Target. State Legislatures, 37(6), 30-32