There were at least 4,145 publicly disclosed breaches into more than 22 billion records in 2021. While down by 5% from the year prior, the numbers are still alarming.
Hackers are using increasingly complex techniques to siphon data from organizations, causing losses in both image and hard dollars. Hackers will undoubtedly continue to find new ways to infiltrate organizations.
So what can you do to shore up your defenses and prevent a data breach? What can businesses do to protect both their data and reputation?
Read on to learn about the most recent data breaches and three key lessons you can learn from them.
Latest Recorded Data Breaches
There have been countless data breaches in history but none so sophisticated as the ones recorded so far in 2022. Here’s a quick look into some of the most destructive data breaches that happened early this year:
Crypto.com Theft
The January attack stole about $30 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum, plus other cryptocurrencies, from Crypto.com’s hundreds of wallet owners.
News Corp Server Breach
Media giant News Corp’s data breach, which also transpired in January, did not compromise any customer data but stole emails of its journalists and other employees. The attack was believed to be a case of espionage.
Red Cross Data Breach
Also in January, hackers stole the personal information of over 500,000 beneficiaries of the Red Cross, whose compromised servers also housed data used for the organization’s war, migration, and violence-related services.
FlexBooker Data Breach
The attack, which occurred from late 2021 to early 2022, stole the personal information of three million users of the appointment-setting service. The stolen data ended up being sold on popular hacking message boards.
GiveSendGo Political Data Breach
In February, a hacker leaked the names of 90,000 donors of the Christian fundraising site, GiveSendGo. The attacker condemned the site’s Freedom Convoy, a group of Canadian truckers roaming the country in protest of anti-COVID-19 restrictions.
Three Lessons from Recent Data Breaches
The recent string of high-profile data breaches has forced businesses to re-evaluate their security practices. Here are three lessons businesses can learn from recent data breaches:
1. Don’t Underestimate Data Security
In the age of digital information, businesses must make data security a top priority. Recent breaches have shown that even the most well-protected companies are vulnerable to attacks.
2. Use Multiple Layers of Defenses
Multiple layers of security are essential to protecting data. Organizations must have security measures in place at every level, from the network to the application.
3. Be Prepared for Anything
As we have seen this year, specifically in the GiveSendGo and Red Cross breaches, hackers don’t only hack for financial gain. They can also do so to drive a political point or any issue that they feel strongly about.
That means, even if you’re a small business owner, you are not automatically safe. Click here to learn more about protecting yourself against cybersecurity risks.
Learning From Experience
Data breaches have become more common and costly of late. However, affected businesses can learn from their mistakes and take steps to protect themselves and their customers.
By reviewing the three lessons culled from some of the most recent data breaches this year, businesses can take concrete steps to defend themselves while mitigating the damages of a breach.
There may be no predicting what a hacker’s next approach will be, but by taking a proactive approach to defense, businesses can decrease the potential impact of any potential attacks on their systems.
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