2017 would seem to be little different from the start of any other year; a few weeks in and January is already in full swing with the memories of a little R&R over the festive season rapidly fading and only the tell-tale signs around the waistline still visible.
Unfortunately, along with any new year comes new risks and threats and as a responsible partner in cloud backup and security we urge you to take the necessary precautions to protect your data, and ultimately your business.
There are many ways that your data can be at risk including hard drive loss / failure, software vulnerabilities and general poor security. In fact, some of the most renowned data breaches in the UK are a direct result of these very risks. Below we take a brief look at three of the UK’s top data breaches in 2016.
- Three Mobile – hackers used an employee login to hack the company’s upgrade database which put millions of client’s personal data at risk.
- Tesco – this is a giant supermarket in the UK that also offers consumers a finance division called “Tesco Bank”. In early November 2016, over 20 000 clients had money stolen from their bank accounts. The breach seems to have originated online and as such, all online transactions were suspended to minimise the risk to the company’s 7 million customers.
- Kiddicare – while testing their new website, Kiddicare exposed over 800 000 customer’s personal details including names, addresses and personal particulars. Luckily, no credit card information was exposed during the breach.
With the Data Protection Act still in its early days in many countries and the security of personal data often in the hands of another entity, we need to accept that we are all vulnerable to data breaches. That’s why it’s vitally important to ensure that you don’t provide personal information to a source that you aren’t familiar with. If you are running a business that makes online sales or gathers client information, ensure that all the necessary precautions are taken to safeguard your client’s particulars.
For tips and advice on data security, contact us and chat to one of our consultants at Soteria Cloud. We might not be able to retrieve your holiday memories or rid you of those unwanted kilos, but we will ensure that you get 2017 off to a safe and secure start when it comes to protecting your data.