If you’re an entrepreneur, there’s a chance you’ve reacted rather ominously after hearing of the massive data breach at Target, which occurred from November 27 to December 15 last year. Due to a certain software exploited by hackers, some 70 million records—including names, addresses, emails, and phone numbers—were stolen. In fact, it’s not exactly the first time, wherein a report on TechCrunch.com, indicates that the company had also been breached barely a year before the latest attack—exposing about 40 million debit and credit card numbers.
Unfortunately, Target isn’t the only one. Home Depot was also a victim of a massive data breach, with about 60 million credit and debit cards stolen by a group of hackers—the same suspects allegedly behind the Target breach.
What the previous paragraphs simply mean is that in a world where cybercriminals are getting smarter and more resourceful, no single company in operation can afford to let their guard down. Speaking to entrepreneurs at a convention, cybersecurity expert Kelley Dempsey claims that numerous threats are even banging on companies’ firewalls at this very moment. Herald Mail Media’s CJ Lovelace quotes:
“If you look at firewall statistics, there’s just constantly people banging against firewalls trying to get in.” she said. “Anyone who’s running a firewall and looking at their logs, they can see—it doesn’t matter how large or small the business is, they’re trying to find any information they can find.”
Dempsey’s claim that all businesses—big or small—are always at high risk of data breaches is a fact. Even small-scale enterprises need to have access to reliable small business computer support, but sadly, not a lot of them really know a lot about cybersecurity itself. 44 percent of the respondents to a 2012 National Small Business Association survey reported at least one instance of a cyber-attack, averaging at least $8,699.48 in profit losses for each breach.
Simply put, every single commercial establishment in operation possesses significant information that can be exploited by cyber criminals. Writing for USA Today, Eric Cernak noted an instance wherein a single hacker managed to steal some 20,000 credit card records from a small online retail website. Imagine if a group would’ve collectively hacked a single, large-scale commercial target—such a group could pull off a heist bigger than the Target breach.
Bottom line is, investing in a solid cybersecurity program should be a no-brainer for all businesses. Thankfully, local Minneapolis IT support providers such as RB’s Computer Service are around to ensure that the risks of debilitating data breaches are minimized for their clients.
(Source: Cybersecurity Expert Sees Rising Threat from Adversaries, Herald Mail Media, September 11, 2014)