What South African’s can learn from the security breach on Anthem in the US

Anthem, the second largest health insurance company in the US needs no introduction to the market. Recently this particular health insurer experienced an attack that put the data of millions of people at risk. The data was all personal information which can be quite easily used for identity theft and with this particular crime on the rise in SA, it goes without saying that it has drawn considerable attention!

Identity theft in South Africa costs the economy R1 billion annually and what is most shocking is that between 2012 and 2013, the figures increased by 16%. Data protection legislation such as the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPI) has been set in place to help organisations to protect the personal data and information on employees, clients and stakeholders, but is this really enough?

What is interesting about the attack on Anthem that could be a lesson for South African’s is that the hack was not a quick once off job to gain information. The process had been carried out over a number of months with the personal data of individuals being slowly siphoned. The hack had been designed in such a way that it went undetected by the company. It was only when an employee noticed a database query being carried out, using his code without authorisation, that the attack was detected.

South African companies can truly learn from this particular security breach as it is specifically designed to remain undetected over a period of time. Companies and organisations must ensure that they make use of the latest and best security measures for their private data. Rather than storing important data on devices it is strongly recommended that cloud storage is used and that all data stored to the cloud is encrypted. If you are looking to step up security for your business, take the time to get in touch with us at Soteria Cloud. We will present you with a variety of backup and storage options to consider.