By now, all companies should be aware that cybersecurity threats are one of the major risks any business faces. Of these, those that directly compromise sensitive data can cause particularly severe damage.
With the typical cost of a data breach now approaching $4.5 million (a 15% increase over the past three years), it's critical that businesses have the right defenses in place. This means data protection at every level of the business, from initial perimeter defense to preventing data breaches. But in order to implement this effectively, it's crucial to understand what cybercriminals are looking for and what methods they will use to obtain it.
The Importance of Data Security in Enterprises
Poor data security can have widespread consequences for a business. Failure in this regard will not only disrupt activity in the short term. Serious incidents can not only cause huge financial losses, but also lead to the loss of customers and even threaten the future viability of the organization.
What information is typically targeted in data breaches?
Nowadays, many hackers regard extracting sensitive and confidential information as the main goal of their attacks. This can be anything from financial details that can be sold for identity theft, to trade secrets or intellectual property that are extremely valuable to competitors.
However, certain categories of data are particularly valuable. For example, healthcare information is often a prime target for hackers because its sensitivity means organizations are more likely to yield to any demands to restore access or ensure it is not publicly disclosed.
In fact, BlackFog's 2022 State of Ransomware Report shows that the industries most attacked include education, healthcare, and government, all of which rely heavily on confidential citizen data and often have limited resources to defend against attacks.
What are the main ways data breaches occur?
Although there is a popular image on the dark web of dark web hackers targeting companies with advanced threats, this is far from the only way a data breach can occur. In fact, the vast majority of cybersecurity problems (as high as 95% according to some studies) can be traced to human error within the enterprise.
This could be a mistake that leaves an opportunity for cybercriminals to exploit. For example, failure to properly configure systems or identify vulnerabilities can leave a company vulnerable to techniques such as SQL injection attacks or advanced persistent threats. Relying on weak or reused passwords can also open you up to hackers.
Falling victim to a social engineering attack is also a common way a data breach occurs, so it’s critical that all employees receive comprehensive training in data protection best practices.
Why do data breaches occur?
In addition to understanding the “how” of data breaches, it also pays to understand the “why.” Understanding what hackers are looking for ensures you know which parts of your network to prioritize when building a data breach presentation strategy.
In the past, the main goal of many attacks was to obtain valuable personal data (such as financial details or Social Security number information), which could be sold or used for criminals' personal gain. In today's environment, however, motivations have changed. Today, ransomware is often a primary target for threat actors because it provides a relatively cheap and reliable way to make money.
Many companies are willing to pay to resolve issues, regain critical files, or prevent negative publicity, and those that do are often flagged as vulnerable targets for re-attacks.
What are the most common types of data breaches?
To prevent data breaches, you must first understand what they look like, the methods hackers use to gain access to your business, and the different ways data can be breached. Therefore, becoming familiar with the most common types of data breach attack vectors is an important first step in protecting your most sensitive information.
malicious software
Malware is a broad term, a catch-all phrase that can refer to any type of malware that hackers try to infect a network. Cybercriminals can then use this information to gain unauthorized access to confidential information, steal data, compromise systems, spy on users' activities, or delete data on the network.
The most common way malware enters a network is through phishing attacks, which is the root cause of more than 90% of incidents. These may invite users to open files directly to inject malicious code or direct them to websites where drive-by downloads can be used to infect systems.
ransomware
More specifically, ransomware is a specific type of malware that has become one of the most popular forms of cyberattacks over the past few years. In fact, 25% of all breaches last year involved ransomware, according to Verizon's 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report.
The nature of these attacks has also changed. Traditionally, malicious actors seeking ransom would encrypt data or systems to prevent mission-critical business activities from occurring. They will then demand money in exchange for the decryption keys needed for recovery.
Today, however, by far the most dangerous threat is dual ransomware. Such ransomware attacks can also infiltrate critical business or customer data and then threaten to release it publicly if a ransom is not paid. According to our latest annual data breach report, 89% of all ransomware attacks in 2022 involved a data breach, a 9% increase from the previous year.
insider threat
According to Verizon, 83% of data breaches involve external actors, which of course means that about one in six incidents originates from within your enterprise. It is known that insider threats can be the result of human error, such as an individual emailing sensitive information to the wrong recipient, or it can be intentional.
Malicious insider threats can cause significant damage and are particularly difficult to detect. These individuals often know exactly which data is most valuable, how to access it, and how to cover their tracks and evade standard security measures. Motives for doing so can vary from revenge for a perceived slight to blackmail or bribery.
Technologies such as access management tools and anti-data exfiltration (ADX) software are very useful here, as they can detect anomalous behavior within the enterprise and block any attempts to leak corporate or personal information if it occurs.
Phishing
In addition to being used as a direct channel for spreading malware, email can also pose a range of other risks. These include targeted spear phishing attacks tailored to individual victims, business email compromises that appear to come from trusted contacts such as vendors or executives, and other social engineering attacks.
It is estimated that more than 3 billion phishing scam emails are sent worldwide every day, making a strong email security solution an important first line of defense. This should be used in conjunction with other solutions such as multi-factor authentication, which can prevent attackers from using login credentials obtained through phishing to access business or customer data.
Another key defense against email-based threats is employee training. By ensuring that everyone in the organization is aware of the threats arriving in their inboxes and knows what signs to look for or determine if a message is genuine, companies can significantly reduce risk.
Stolen information
Finally, there are some data beaches that may not come from hackers, but from more traditional criminal activity. Lost or stolen devices remain a common source of data breaches and can cause major headaches for businesses, especially when dealing with confidential data on portable endpoints such as smartphones.
Clear policies and reminding employees of their responsibilities when handling company data are critical to minimizing these risks, but so are tools that can remotely wipe data from company-owned devices. However, if employees are using personal devices, these may not always be in place, so it is critical to understand every endpoint where company data may be held.
Protect your company from data breaches
Data breach prevention is always better than cure. Once a vulnerability is discovered, the damage has been done. However, by adopting the right technology and processes to address the specific risks posed by each of the above types of data breaches, companies can go a long way in mitigating their risks.
How to prevent a data breach in your company?
Preventing a data breach from happening in the first place is the best form of defense against these attacks. While the first step should be solutions like firewalls, email security, and antivirus to prevent hackers from gaining access to your systems in the first place, these solutions alone will never be 100% effective.
However, even if cybercriminals have breached your perimeter, there are still things you can do to stop them from stealing your data. Powerful access management tools prevent unauthorized access, while ADX tools automatically intervene to prevent data from being deleted from the network, ensuring your sensitive information is protected.
How to tell if you've been the victim of a data breach?
It is often difficult for companies to determine whether they have been harmed. In fact, according to Blumira, it takes an average of 212 days for a security breach to be noticed before being discovered, and an additional 75 days to contain it.
This is where advanced behavior-based tools like ADX come in. Unlike other solutions that rely on matching potential threats to known signatures, these tools use machine learning to build a complete picture of typical user behavior in an enterprise.
If it detects activity that doesn't fall within this scope (such as a user account suddenly trying to make large data transfers at unusual times), it can block those activities before they have a chance to steal information.
What should companies do after a data breach?
If all else fails, having a comprehensive mitigation plan in place to deal with a data breach is critical. This should cover a range of issues, from who in the business will be responsible for managing the response, to determining if and when data protection authorities need to be notified, and putting in place improved systems to avoid future problems.
Even if companies act quickly, the damage from a breach can be significant and widespread. Direct loss of business, damage to reputation, and potential fines and legal action all increase the financial losses a company may face. If customer data is compromised, the costs may even include providing credit monitoring services to affected individuals as well as any regulatory action.
So, it’s clear that data breach prevention is always a better option by stopping an attack before it happens. While no system can be 100% secure, a defense-in-depth approach from perimeter defense to endpoint protection and ADX is the best way to avoid messy and expensive cleanup operations.