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According to a new report, the number of data breaches is rising, and a growing industry of cyber criminals is to blame.
The report from security firm Risk Based Security found that there were 3,833 data breaches last year, a 27% increase from 2016. And the number of records exposed rose by an even higher margin, up 54% to 6.43 billion.
So what’s behind this surge in data breaches? A big part of the problem is that stolen data has become a commodity that can be easily bought and sold on the black market.
“There’s now a thriving industry of data brokers who buy and sell stolen data,” said Inga Goddijn, executive vice president at Risk Based Security. “This makes it easy for even amateur cyber criminals to get their hands on sensitive information.”
Goddijn notes that the Equifax breach, which exposed the personal data of 143 million people, was likely the work of a relatively amateur hacker who bought the stolen data on the black market.
Another factor contributing to the increase in data breaches is the growing use of cloud services. While cloud computing can offer many benefits, it also creates new opportunities for hackers to access sensitive data.
“More and more businesses are moving their data to the cloud, but they often don’t have the proper security measures to protect it,” said Goddijn. “As a result, data breaches involving cloud services are on the rise.”
“Data breaches are becoming more common and costly,” said Goddijn. “Businesses need to take steps to protect themselves and their customers.”
To help prevent data breaches, businesses need to be aware of the risks and take steps to secure their data. This includes encrypting sensitive data, using strong authentication measures, and keeping up to date with security patches.
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