How to Prevent a Data Breach
The internet makes our lives very convenient, but it also gives cybercriminals plenty of opportunities to steal data. They can use credit card information to buy goods, create fake identities, and sell company trade secrets or personal details on the dark web. They can gain access to our medical records to commit insurance fraud or steal prescription drugs. They can even steal our Social Security numbers to apply for loans or get medical care. They can also sell our data to spies in other countries, or publish it via sites like Wikileaks and Chelsea Manning.
A recent study, Cost of a Data Breach 2022, found that stolen or compromised credentials were the most common initial attack vector, accounting for 19 percent of data breaches. Hackers can obtain credentials through brute force attacks, buying them off the dark web, or tricking people into revealing them through phishing.
Once hackers gain access to your network, they can install malware that monitors all of your data and transmits it back to their command-and-control server. Spyware is one of the most popular types of malware used in data breaches.
When it comes to personal data, you can reduce the risk of being exposed to a breach by using unique passwords for every account and closing accounts that haven’t been accessed in a while. You should also close dormant accounts rather than leaving them open because a hacker who gains access to an account will be able to access all of your other accounts as well.