Ask most corporate executives to define cybersecurity and their initial thoughts turn to data privacy. That’s for good reason. Companies are bleeding corporate trade secrets and personally identifiable information at such an alarming rate that confidentiality issues and related compliance concerns can’t help but dominate the cybersecurity agenda. Yet, ask cybersecurity professionals what keeps them up at night, and the topic invariably turns to data deletion, tampering with control systems, and the potential to cause physical harm over the Internet. These concerns fall into categories that are distinct from protecting data confidentiality. Instead, they demonstrate the importance of maintaining an enterprise focus on the integrity and availability of your company’s most essential data, systems and services.
Over the past three years, most healthcare data breaches were the result of lost or stolen devices, not hacking (only 23 percent). For records breached, 76 percent were the result of a loss or theft.
Sixty-one percent of Americans believethat their data is not secure, according to a survey from PKWARE. Theft of financial and identity information causes the most concern among respondents, with the leading data at risk cited as Social Security numbers and banking information, including credit cards.
The 21st Century is often referred to as the information age; the developing global marketplace has contributed to the entrance of new cultures and economies into the competitive global economy. Due to globally available infrastructure and the development of global telecommunication/computing capabilities, it has enabled individuals, companies and countries to compete globally on a level playing field with traditional Western powers even from some of the most remote parts of the world. Unfortunately this has also created conditions in which the threat of corporate espionage has been rapidly proliferating due to the ease threat actors can ply their trade both through physical and virtual actions against U.S. corporations.
In August 2013, Former Assistant Defense Secretary for Homeland Defense & Americas’ Security Affairs, Dr. Paul Stockton sat on a panel that discussed cybersecurity challenges facing the electric sector and some of the vulnerabilities in the U.S. electric grid system.
JPMorgan Chase and at least four other financial institutions were hacked recently in a series of coordinated attacks, and investigators believe Russian hackers were the source of the attacks, a federal law enforcement official told USA Today. What is less clear is whether the attacks were prompted by U.S. sanctions against the Russian government.
Community Health Systems, which operates 206 hospitals around the U.S., announced today that in a recent data breach hackers stole data on 4.5 million patients, including names, Social Security numbers, addresses, birthdays and telephone numbers. The hackers did not steal information about patients’ medical histories, clinical operations or credit cards.
Security breaches cost organizations around the world millions of dollars each year. The average cost of each breach is upwards of $6 million according to a report from the Ponemon Institute, and perhaps more concerning, 50 percent of organizations surveyed were not confident in their security programs.
