October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, and the disastrous effects of the recent Equifax breach are a reminder of the need for cybersecurity changes. The Equifax data breach was another incident of cyber criminals stealing personal data from a large company. The breach leaked personal financial information on 143 million people and is now being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission.
“The FTC typically does not comment on ongoing investigations. However, in light of the intense public interest and the potential impact of this matter, I can confirm that FTC staff is investigating the Equifax data breach.” said spokesman Peter Kaplan. Close to 40 states have also joined a probe of the company’s business practices.
This signals that these data breaches will continue until society as a whole (industry, government and individual users) is able to objectively assess and improve cybersecurity procedures, according to Salon.
Not only have data breaches like this have been happening for years, they have been getting bigger and worse. Cybersecurity researchers have been using breaches like this to determine why they keep happening. Sadly, there are many people to blame.
There are a few main problems that need to be addressed before people can have complete peace of mind that their data is secure. First, companies need to stop fixing day-to-day issues and solve the overall problem. It is time for companies to get serious about following the best cybersecurity practices. If this doesn’t happen, cybersecurity issues will only get worse.
Even after the widespread knowledge of these data breaches, many companies still aren’t following basic cybersecurity practices. Some of the recommended practices include backing up data, training and educating employees and updating software and systems. Since most organizations are failing to do these things, it is no surprise that the majority of organizations in 2017 will face some sort of breach whether it comes from external threat actors or inside threats, according to Observe IT.
The Equifax breach is still under investigation, but the ramifications should help companies wake up to the need of proper cybersecurity measures. At MDL, we can help with your security needs. Our team is knowledgeable in the best industry practices for cybersecurity, learn more about our services: http://bit.ly/2fhhtpc.
