It’s pretty commonplace to see massive data breaches in the news anymore. Recently, 773 million unique email addresses and corresponding passwords were made public to popular hacking websites, as reported by Troy Hunt, a senior Microsoft security director. This potentially record-breaking data breach isn’t that surprising, though. Our culture is growing increasingly conditioned to expect our most sensitive data and information will be hacked and made available through different internet channels. As a HITRUST CSF ® Certified company, United Mail takes a firm stance against this stark cultural shift. In this blog post, we detail three recent major data breaches and highlight the importance of working with a HITRUST CSF certified company.
Yahoo, the Largest Data Breach of All Time
In 2017, Yahoo reported that its 3 billion accounts had been hacked between 2013 and 2014. In the unprecedented and unparalleled security breach, account holders’ names, birthdates, email addresses, and passwords were made public and circulated. Additionally, users’ security questions and answers were compromised, too. Many factors contributed to this historic data assault: outdated protection software, flimsy and predictable encryption practices, and no backlogs to detect potential threats, to name a few. Because of this massive breach, the juggernaut of the information age was forced to sell its brand, which is now known as Altaba, Inc.
How Equifax Compromised Millions of Accounts
Also in 2017, Equifax was investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for a massive data breach that implicated the personal information of over 140 million accounts. The credit reporting giant is known as one of the top three in its industry, so this breach had massive consequences. For most Americans who had ever received a credit report, their names, social security numbers, birthdates, and addresses were hacked and circulated on the internet. Though there were resources to help potentially compromised victims of this breach, this massive cyber attack did not need to happen and was largely attributed to Equifax’s decision to employ a flawed web portal. As reported, the company was aware of its online portal’s security vulnerabilities before the massive data breach. Because of this rash decision-making, millions of users’ information was widely circulated on the internet, effectively damaging the company’s reputation.
A Bank Too Big to Fail Can Still Be Hacked
JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, experienced a major cyber attack in 2014, when the personal data of 76 million households and over 7 million small businesses was breached. Though social security numbers and bank accounts largely remained safe, other incredibly sensitive personal account information, like addresses and buying and selling habits, became compromised. After the major hack, the banking stalwart promised to invest $250 million in effective cyber security measures.
What a HITRUST CSF Certification Means For Your Data security
United Mail has a firm commitment to making sure your sensitive information and data is secure. We display this dedication through our HITRUST CSF certification (PDF), which effectively proves that we have met key regulations and industry-defined requirements and that we can appropriately manage risk. We realize that we live in a world where sensitive data is constantly under attack. In response, we demonstrate to our industry partners and to state and federal regulators that private information security is both required and necessary, that security methods are actively employed, and that our management is firmly devoted to information protection.
We’re here to worry about data security so you don’t have to. Request a call today, and let’s make sure your sensitive information stays protected.
By: Michael Phillips
