The Importance of Detecting a Data Breach

In our last blog we discussed three of the top causes of data breaches and how to prevent them, both at home and at your place of work. Today we are examining how you can detect a breach so mitigation can begin immediately. 

According to Digital Guardian online, how much a data breach can ultimately cost depends on the country, industry, and the level of the breach. Generally, a breach can span anywhere from $1.25 million to $8.19 million. That is enough to cripple a company and threaten an industry, let alone potentially destroy the good reputation of the company or companies involved. 

How then can businesses big and small protect themselves? Being able to detect a breach as soon as possible is part of the solution. 

A Verizon 2018 Data Breach Investigations Report reveals that significant gaps often exist between time-to-compromise and time-to-discovery, with 83 percent of compromises taking weeks or longer to discover. 

It is important to note that 60% of data is taken within hours of the attack, therefore, the sooner the breach is detected, the better chance you have of stopping data from being accessed or taken. 

Threat Assessment 

One of the first steps that your business will want to take in combating the onslaught of data breaches is to have a threat assessment completed by your IT team or your IT management company. This can offer security and threat prevention by exposing application vulnerabilities, detecting malware & botnets, and identifying “at risk” devices. This part of the assessment analyzes the strength of the firewall and the security breach probability.

Having a team analyze where your vulnerabilities lie can be the first step in strengthening your security practices and your system as a whole. 

Use Data Breach Tools 

One method that experts will tell you can assist in immediately detecting a breach is the installation of data breach tools. There are some paid data breach tools and some that are free to download. Choosing the right one for your system and business needs should be completed by your IT team or IT managed provider. Your system is unique and the tools that can scan and detect when a breach has occured should meet the needs of your particular system and industry.

Stay Up-To-Date 

In the technology field, this is easier said than done. Staying ahead of the hackers and malware means keeping your software updated and installing patches when they are available. It also means monitoring global threats and attack campaigns that are occuring around the world and specifically in your industry. 

Ongoing Training

The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving, so it’s important that your employees attend regular training to be able to detect breaches within the system. They are the front lines when it comes to using the system, and chances are they will be the first to notice if something is awry. Make sure your business leadership and employees are staying updated on threats and vulnerabilities.