Over the past year, we have seen way too many hacks and data breaches in the headlines. Here is your roundup of the largest cyber attacks from 2019, including causes, resolutions, and what you can do to protect your data.
A technology company based in Milwaukee, Virtual Care Provider Inc., was victim to a ransomware attack affecting 110 nursing homes that they provide IT services for across the United States. The hackers demanded $14 million dollars which the tech company simply could not afford. What does this mean? Thousands of medical staff cannot access patient records or order crucial medications. Luckily, patient care was able to continue as the company overcame the struggles of figuring out a ransomware attack but this could have been prevented by investing in network security. It is worth it. Read more.
When a server did not have the proper security measures set in place, 1.2 billion records of personal data was exposed. The data from a data enrichment company, People Data Labs, included email addresses, names, employers, and phone numbers. People Data Labs was working with large companies such as eBay and Adidas, that I am sure are not happy about this data breach. That could affect their business in the future. Had the server been properly secured, this would have been prevented. Now, 1.2 billion people have been notified and need to take measures to change any information that was exposed. Read more.
Something that stands out as a major change from 2018 to 2019 when looking at cyber attack history, this year there hasn’t been a single, very large attack of the same magnitude as the Equifax hack. 2019 was full of smaller scale ransomware and phishing attacks. Phishing attacks are on the rise because they work. Hackers are getting more and more creative with their phishing techniques in order to get people to click their malicious links. It is important to have your network secure to block that malicious data. Read more.
Whether it be ransomware, phishing, or a data breach, businesses saw a lot of unexpected costs in 2019 from cyber attacks. They happened across a number of industries including retail, finance, and healthcare. Hackers attacked companies large and small, including Apple, Facebook, and Toyota. The average cost of a data breach is up to $3.92 million once all costs like investigation expenses, damage control, and lawsuits are taken into consideration. Moving into 2020, I think we will see companies investing in their network security strategies in order to prevent this huge cost. Read more.
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