Credit Card Theft increasing for Banks and Retailers

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2013 was the year of 740 million records involving data breaches. And that number may be erring quite on the conservative side, according to the Online Trust Alliance. The records come from a list on the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse Chronology Data Base.

2CThe list is that of publically disclosed breaches, including the alleged 110 million that struck the big retailer December 13. Many of the listed breaches are of a non-descript number.

The more electronically connected everything becomes, the greater the potential for data breaches—it’s almost as though all this advancement in online data storage and transmission is setting us backwards.

Cybercriminals are good at keeping pace with the progression of online security tactics, matching every leap and bound. This is why organizations must put security and data protection at the top of their priorities and be ready to handle a major breach.

Unfortunately, no one-size-fits-all defense against cyber-fraudsters exists. Nevertheless, there do exist best practices that can optimize a company’s protection against cybercrime.

Let’s take a look at some highlights of the data breaches of 2013.

  • Though that conservative 740 million records was disclosed, 89 percent of the breaches and loss of data incidents could have been thwarted.
  • 76 percent of breaches were due to stolen or weak account credentials.
  • In 2013 alone, 40 percent of the top breaches were recorded.
  • Insider mistakes or threats accounted for 31 percent of insiders.
  • Social engineering was responsible for 29 percent of breaches.
  • Physical loss such as forgetting where one placed a device, flash drive, etc., was responsible for 21 percent of the data loss incidents.

The 2014 Data Protection & Breach Readiness Guide can help service providers and app developers for businesses grasp the issues, factors and solutions that will fire up data protection tactics and bring about a development of strategies for managing a data breach incident.

Smart businesses think proactively:

Smart businesses are investing in their client’s security. Consumers want to know they are being protected before, during and after a transaction.