How long has it been since we’ve seen a full week go by without another headline of yet another data breach? Far too long, and this week is no exception. The latest victim? High-end retailer Neiman Marcus.
Fortunately, at least in terms of scope and scale, this breach is a relatively small one. A spokesman for the company reported that the impact was limited to just over 5200 user accounts. Even so, that is 5200 too many. The root cause of the successful breach has been traced back to the fact that these accounts were only protected by a simple, single-factor authentication scheme – just a username and a password.
Given the realities that business faces today – the sheer number of sophisticated attacks being launched against companies of all sizes – it seems unthinkable that any firm, regardless of size, would still be using simple password protection schemes, but that is indeed the case in the overwhelming majority of instances where successful hacks are reported.
It doesn’t have to be that way. There are things companies can do quickly and cost effectively to dramatically increase security. Most of these involve using readily available multi-factor authentication methodologies, involving biometric scans available on virtually all handheld devices available today, or geolocation factors, which are also easily implemented and readily available.
Why there has been such a lag in full-scale, economy-wide implementation of these types of security solutions remains a mystery, but until this is done, these kinds of attacks will continue, and they will continue to be successful.
What is the current state of security at your firm? Is your company one of the many still using a simple username and password protection scheme? If so, then it is just a matter of time before you become the next headline.
If you’re not sure how to proceed in terms of taking your security to the next level, contact our team today. We can help steer you in the right direction, and assist you in designing a robust system that will better protect not only your business’s data, but your customers’ data as well.
