Identity Theft — What’s It Going To Take?
Javelin Strategy & Research found that 12.7 million people were affected by identity fraud last year, resulting in an upwards of $16 billion in losses. That means that in 2014 an identity was stolen every 2 seconds… They add up quickly. Javelin also found that among those affected by some sort of identity fraud, two-thirds had previously received a data breach notification earlier that year. But, what does this mean?
It means that data breaches and identity theft are often directly interrelated.
And just because a business is a recognized, significant force in the market doesn’t necessarily mean they’ve take the necessary precautions to protect their employees, customers, or themselves. For example, in 2014, some of the largest corporations in America were affected by data breaches.
Here are five of the most notable data breaches in 2014:
1. Sony Pictures — 47,000 Social Security Numbers & 15,000 former-employee records
2. JPMorgan Chase — 76 million households | 7 million small businesses
3. The Home Depot — 56 million credit & debit card numbers
4. Community Health Systems — 4.5 million patients records
5. Neiman Marcus — 350,000 customers affected
Data Breaches — What’s It Going To Take?
Businesses continually defy federal and state mandates about secure email requirements, putting confidential customer, employee, and business information in jeopardy.
In 2014, according to the Ponemon Institute, 43% of companies have experienced a data breach of more than 1,000 records (or user account information), and since then, in 2015, the Ponemon Institute has found that the average cost of a data breach on a company basis has increased to $3.8 million. That number is now up 23% since 2013 and on average costs the business nearly $154 per record breached. But, the healthcare industry appears to have it even worse, as the average cost per record breached has skyrocketed to $363.
But, that’s not all…
Ignorance Is Most Certainly Not Bliss — What’s It Going To Take?
An overwhelming amount of facts about data breaches/identity theft have been presented in the past five years, which would believe the average consumer to believe that his (or her) information was now protected. Ignorance is bliss though, right? If you want to be certain that your information is protected, you need to take the steps to ensure that change takes place.
Well, in this case, ignorance is most certainly not bliss…
Here are some steps you can take to ensure the protection of your PII (Personally Identifiable Information — SSN / Credit Card Numbers / Name / Etc.)
1. Make sure companies and industries (examples below) handle your information securely. If you’re unsure, ask them about it.
Here are a few types of organizations that are legally required to implement a secure email solution:
- Accounting Firms/CPAs
- Healthcare Professionals/Healthcare Providers
- Educational Facilities (Schools & Universities)
- Government Agencies
2. Make sure companies and organizations that already have your PII are using a secure email solution when communicating your information with other businesses, other employees, or even right back to you.
3. Don’t send your Personally Identifiable Information by way of a standard email solution. Standard email accounts do not encrypt messages, do not comply with federal regulations, and are easily susceptible to outside attacks. Standard emails can be intercepted, misused, and altered by outside third-parties, so don’t leave send your sensitive information without sending securely.
4. Don’t give your PII over the phone when asked of you, if you did not initiate the conversation. You’ll only want to give out your information across the phone if you’ve deliberately called a trused business or organization, and it’s a legitimate need.
5. Don’t click on any links found within emails asking for your information. Often times, spammers (and hackers) will hide hazardous links in what appears to be a normal email. These emails are used as “phishing” attempts, which is a scheme used to steal and access your sensitive information with what appears to be a verified message.
Use your intuition: If you do receive an email requesting you to click a link that you feel is authentic, check the source. Give the business a call to verify that the message is genuine.
The facts are quite cut-and-dry: not only can a data breach be personally damaging, but the legal ramifications of not using a secure email solution are invariably worsening by the hour.
So, what’s it going to take before businesses and individuals truly realize that the digital world is no longer a recognized safe place, and that a secure email solution is a necessity?
Seriously, what’s it going to take?
