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According to the report, malicious attacks on networks
skyrocketed by 81 percent in 2011. The report also highlights that
advanced persistent threats, known as APT attacks, are spreading to
organizations of all sizes, with the number of daily APT attacks
increasing from 77 per day to 82 per day by the end of 2011. Such
attacks are no longer limited to large organizations, as
demonstrated by the data in the report. According to Symantec, more
than 50 percent of such attacks target companies with fewer than
250 employees. It is possible that smaller organizations are now
being targeted because they are somehow related to larger
companies, through supply chain or other relationships —
and they are less well-defended.
The 2011 Report also includes information regarding data
breaches. According to Symantec, approximately 1.1 million
identities were stolen per data breach on average in 2011, and
hacking incidents exposed 187 million identities in 2011
— the largest number for any type of data breach in
2011.
Now here comes the "kicker".......the most
frequent cause of data breaches was theft of loss of unencrypted
data on a computer or other medium on which data is stored or
transmitted, such as a smartphone, USB drive, or a backup device.
These theft or loss related breaches exposed 18.5 million
identities.
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The 2010 theft of an unencrypted laptop containing confidential health care information made front-page news in 2013, not because a huge number of patients were affected, but for the exact opposite reason.
Identity theft is a serious threat. In 2012, more than 12.6 million adults became victims of identity theft in the U.S.1 And the costs have been astronomical.
On April 22 Verizon released its 2013 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR), which has since 2008 become a leading annual survey of data breaches, with participants across the globe.
Increasingly, privacy is a big concern in app development. California and other jurisdictions are ramping up enforcement efforts around existing privacy laws.
Understanding the complexities of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules is often a challenge for health care providers and consumers.
Any company that collects personal data from consumers should take proactive steps to have appropriate legal counsel review its data security practices, as well as its terms of service or privacy practices, to identify any potential problem areas.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) published on its website a series of factsheets designed to educate consumers unfamiliar with their rights under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act’s (HIPAA) Privacy and Security Rules.
FTC On The Prowl, And Businesses Looking For Guidance On New COPPA Changes
