The cost of a data breach has far-reaching impacts, according to new research by IBM. In its ‘Cost of a Data Breach’ report for 2022, IBM revealed that the latest costs for data breaches in organisations averages at $4.35 million. In the last two years alone, costs have increased by nearly 13%. The report also showed that these costs are being passed on to consumers – specifically contributing to a rising cost of goods and services. Six in 10 organisations have increased their prices in response to data breaches.
In the wake of the growing number of ransomware attacks, many companies are shutting down their systems as a precaution after a cyberattack before it is too late - this often leads to more disruption. A recent example includes the Bromford Housing Association, which shut down all their technology - including appointment systems and communications channels with their suppliers and customers – to only take emergency calls. Chief Information Officer Dan Goodall said: “We know how much of a pain this must be and we are so sorry for missed appointments and how limited our service is. Returning to normal can only happen when we know our systems are safe.”
Mycena CEO was the guest on the latest Silicon UK podcast this August. Founder Julia O’Toole chats to editor David Howell about how companies unsuspectedly shot down their own security when giving to their employees their company access control. Find out more about how Mycena came to be, and how encrypting and segmenting all your access will improve your business security and resilience against cyberattacks. You can listen back to the podcast by visiting the Silicon UK website.
A single hacker has managed to gain access to 5.4 million Twitter accounts. Reports suggest that Twitter suffered a security vulnerability which allowed user data to be extracted. User details are now for sale on a hacking forum, valued at $30,000. Further studies state that the vulnerability had become known to Twitter in January 2022, and has affected up to 1 billion Chinese residents. A spokesperson for Twitter said: “In July 2022, we learned through a press report that someone had potentially leveraged this and was offering to sell the information they had compiled. After reviewing a sample of the available data for sale, we confirmed that a bad actor had taken advantage of the issue before it was addressed.”
While the race for prime minister rages on, former chancellor Rishi Sunak is ahead of his competition Liz Truss in a somewhat unexpected fashion. An annual report from the Treasury reveals that his department has considerably fewer cases of data breaches than hers. Meanwhile, in Truss’ department, there were 117 incidents, 96 of which were considered to be personal data breaches. The majority of attacks have been classed as “data protection issues”.
A recent report from Verizon revealed several crucial insights into cybersecurity. Analysing over 23,000 incidents and 5,000 breaches, the report pinpointed some common issues affecting businesses around the world. Chief among them, the results showed that 82 per cent of all cyber breaches came through human error – weak passwords, stolen credentials, phishing, or human error. Julia O’Toole, Founder and CEO of MyCena Security Solutions, explained how the report showed the weakness of modern organisations’ security practices, “Most companies let their employees control the access credentials to their infrastructure and assets. That is essentially giving up control of access from day one. When someone else controls your company’s digital keys, you are no longer in charge of what happens to them.” Until businesses address the root cause of these breaches, they will continue to happen.
