Number of data breaches falls but 2018 is still set to be the second worst year on record
In the final quarter of 2018, the number of reported breaches is down by eight percent and the number of exposed records is down around 49 percent, from seven billion in 2017.
The latest Data Breach QuickView report from Risk Based Security shows that seven breaches exposed 100 million or more records with the 10 largest breaches accounting for 84.5 percent of the records exposed this year to date.
Communication and data breaches: How to get it right
"Data breaches have become the leading risk to data and privacy in the last ten years, and there’s no sign of an end." States the Avast Business Threat Landscape Report for 2018, and isn’t hard to believe. Over the course of 2017 there were more than 2.6 billion instances of records and data being compromised or stolen online, but in the first half of 2018 alone, data breaches exposed over 4.5 billion records.
Clearly, this is a very real threat. But while many businesses are increasing their preventative measures, the important step of creating an incident response plan is often overlooked. While any business can hope that their cyber security is enough to keep company and client data safe, it’s important not to simply assume that this will be the case.
That's classified: Government can continue its data protection leadership
We are living in the data age. Organizations are grappling with a seemingly unending barrage of data and are challenged by how best to use it, store it and secure it. Yet data breaches and leaks continue to happen, despite security regulations becoming stricter in an attempt to help control it.
With that in mind, it’s easy to see why data protection remains a top concern for all organizations. This is especially true for government agencies, which handle some of the most sensitive information in the country. Take the Census Bureau, for example -- public concerns about the security of census data is one of the Bureau’s top issues as it prepares for the 2020 census. Lawmakers have warned that if there were a breach of census data, it could permanently damage public trust and affect the capability of this country to gather essential data in the future.
New monitoring tool checks the dark web for stolen credentials
Stolen login details are highly prized by cybercriminals, whether they are used to penetrate corporate networks or to make extortion emails look more convincing.
But often breached companies are slow to let users know their credentials have been stolen. This has begun to change in Europe thanks to GDPR, but in the US there is, as yet, no federal law regulating what companies must do if their users' information is stolen or compromised.
Sextortion is back and this time it looks personal
Over the last few weeks you may well have received an email that quotes an old password you once used. It tells you that your account has been hacked, that malware has been placed on your machine to capture data and that you’ve been recorded watching porn.
It then demands that you cough up some Bitcoin -- amounts vary -- to prevent this webcam video from being made public on your social networks.
Analysis of British Airways breach uncovers sophisticated techniques
The British Airways breach earlier this year affected around 380,000 customers and resulted in the theft of data including personal and financial details.
The threat research team at Securonix has taken an in-depth look at the breach and the Magecart threat actor behind it, to uncover how it was carried out and offer tips to mitigate and prevent future attacks.
Consumers will stop spending with businesses after a breach
New research finds that that 83 percent of consumers will stop spending with a business for several months in the immediate aftermath of a security breach or a hack.
More than a fifth (21 percent) will never return to a brand or a business post-breach, representing a significant loss of revenue, according to the study from secure payments provider PCI Pal.
4.5 billion records compromised in first half of 2018
The first half of 2018 saw 945 data breaches which led to 4.5 billion data records being compromised worldwide, according to a new report.
The latest Breach Level Index from digital security company Gemalto shows that compared to the same period in 2017, the number of lost, stolen or compromised records increased by a massive 133 percent, though the total number of breaches slightly decreased, suggesting attacks are getting more severe.
After failing to disclose user data leaks, Google is shutting down Google+ and improving APIs
The private data of nearly half a million Google+ users was exposed to third-party developers, and Google failed to notify anyone. A bug in Google+ APIs meant that users' names, email addresses, occupations, gender and age were accessible from 2015 until Google discovered and patched the problem in March this year.
Despite the data possibly having been accessed by 438 apps, Google chose not to go public about the security breach until now. And in a dramatic move, the company has announced that it is shutting down Google+ for consumers. Google has also revealed details of Project Strobe, an audit program through which it discovered the problem.
Insiders cause more than half of data breaches
Most companies consider hacker attacks to be the most dangerous threat, but according to a new report, insiders cause the majority of security incidents by either malicious or accidental actions.
The study from threat detection specialist Netwrix looks at the experiences and plans over 1500 organizations have in addressing IT risks. The insider threat is underlined by the fact that 44 percent of respondents either don't know or are unsure what their employees are doing with sensitive data.
Mozilla teams up with Have I Been Pwned to create data breach notification tool, Firefox Monitor
Mozilla has partnered with Troy Hunt -- the brain behind data compromise checking service Have I Been Pwned -- to create its own data breach notification service. Called Firefox Monitor, the free service lets users check if any of their email accounts or personal data have been involved in data breaches.
More than this, Firefox Monitor can also keep an eye out for future data breaches and notify those who have signed up whether their data has been affected.
Credential stuffing attacks target financial services
A new report from cloud delivery company Akamai reveals that the financial services industry has become a prime target for credential stuffing botnets.
Between May and June 2018, Akamai detected more than 8.3 billion malicious login attempts. However, many botnets attempt to remain in stealth mode for as long as possible.
British Airways hack exposes personal and financial details of 380,000 customers
British Airways has fallen victim to what it describes as a "very sophisticated" attack in which hackers stole financial data relating to hundreds of thousands of customers.
The airline revealed that hackers gained access to its systems and managed to remain undetected for two weeks. The theft of data took place between August 21 and September 5 and the attackers managed to compromise both the ba.com web site and the airline's mobile app.
Traditional identity systems are the new battleship row
In 1941, the US Military was trying to save on security costs by mooring its battleships close together while they were in port. Aircraft were also parked neatly in rows. Many of the most valuable assets of the Pacific Fleet were all centralized in one convenient spot that was well organized, easy to find, and therefore easy to attack.
On 7 December 1941, a date that will live on in infamy, that is exactly what happened.
Half of retailers experience security breaches in the past year
According to a new report, 52 percent of US retailers have suffered a data breach in the past year and 75 percent have had one at some time in the past.
The latest Thales Data Threat Report, Retail Edition, also shows that US retail data breaches more than doubled from 19 percent in the 2017 survey to 50 percent, making retail the second most breached industry vertical this year.
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