Data breaches ran rampant last year. No business was off limits, no industry went untouched, and no person was immune. But the most disturbing part of it all was that we saw attacks that came out of nowhere, sideways, and from every angle, hitting the business world harder than we expected and more than we thought.
So where do we start? How about with Experian’s hack, which unfortunately landed T-Mobile in hot water. Experian’s database was infiltrated and the only information taken was from consumers who applied for T-Mobile financing. Who do you think felt the full extent of that breach? Certainly not Experian. Although Experian was the party responsible for the credit monitoring services and breach notifications, it’s T-Mobile who felt the real sting.
This hack, in particular, pushes an age-old business issue into the spotlight. Do you trust the companies you partner with? And this doesn’t necessarily rest solely on the people inside these companies, but their processes, technology, and protocols, as well. In T-Mobile’s defense, however, who better to partner with than a company specializing in credit monitoring services?
Another unsettling attack on the long list of 2015 data breaches would have to be the one involving LastPass. Boy, can you say stressful? You rely on this company to protect and secure not just one, but every single one of your passwords. If someone gets through LastPass security, then each account you currently have will be in jeopardy, which should make any LastPass member see red and foam from the mouth.
A few months ago when LastPass was hacked it wasn’t a disaster… but it could have been—and that’s the point here. If there are these advanced tools available to the public that make mighty claims to protect and secure your information, then, by golly, they better do it. Even though no account information was stolen (that we know of) during LastPass’ hack, the simple fact that they were hacked at all is frightening and irritating; it has the power to make any LastPass member second guess the reliability of this critically-acclaimed password management tool.
Aside from LastPass and Experian, there were loads of other attacks that could send any person into a state of frenzy:
- Remember VTech? Millions of children were affected. Apparently hackers don’t care how old their victims are.
- The IRS, OPM, and FBI were also hacked. Did anyone ever say the government was off limits? Because they certainly aren’t, either.
- Ever consider doing something secretly? Well, next time you feel this way, just think: Ashley Madison.
- Or what about the Hacking Team or Kaspersky Labs? Guess these firms aren’t as secure as they thought they were.
All these hacks may seem daunting and like there’s nothing you can do to avoid them but, really, you can avoid an attack or, at the very least, lessen the blow of one. To start things off in the right direction, you must never think you’re immune to a cyber-attack, and you must feel you’re completely, 100% safe. Due to the unfortunate, ever-changing nature of cyber threats, your security is never a done deal. Stay smart and stay suspicious.
