Be Proactive: Protect Yourself From Targeted Security Breaches - Essay Sample

Introduction

The purpose of target security breach is to inform the readers on ways a company or an individual can overcome security breaches, the different types of security breaches, and it affects a large number of individuals. The main problem is that cybercriminals target big companies who tend to have many clients with the aim of damaging the reputation of that company or the objective of committing other crimes like identity theft. Targeted companies and individuals are always not aware of that if their personal data is unauthorized accessed until their information gained used to commit a crime.

Statement

I suggest that various companies should train their workers on the safety measures that help to protect security breaches as a way of gaining trust by clients who were affected when companies' security breached.

A well-known company that was affected by security breaching was Equifax's data in 2017. The company is known to be one of the largest nation's credit reporting companies. Hackers accessed more than 145 million Americans' private details. The risk of identity increased for many Americans because of the security breach. The hackers obtained a website application that was considered vulnerable. The security breach on the data occurs between May and July the same year. On 7th September, the company broadcasted the cybersecurity incident (NortonLifelock, n.d). The cybercriminals accessed personally identifiable information of many Americans, such as names, birth dates, addresses, Social Security numbers, credit card information, and some driver's license numbers.

Proposed Solution

I propose every company and individual should know how to protect their information. Kannan, Rees, and Sridhar (2007) suggested some of the ways to protect data, such as; creating strong and secure passwords, use of different passwords on various accounts. Use of secure websites, protect Social Security number, installation of updates, staying informed, signing up for credit reports, and considering credit services such as credit monitoring.

Cost

When the security breach occurred in Equifax Company, it is believed that it cost the company around $600 million to resolve and get back to business. They also encountered a drop in share price, which resulted in wiping off of $4 billion of their market value.

When a company uses a cyber-security services provider, for example, DynaSis located in Atlanta. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, an average salary is $90,120 per year, including an information security analyst.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I think creating awareness for both the company and its clients is the best solution to solve security breaches. It would put an end to hackers who try to gain unapproved access to protected systems and data of an organization even they try to bypass security mechanisms and restricted access areas within the company.

Reference

Kannan, K., Rees, J., & Sridhar, S. (2007). Market reactions to information security breach announcements: An empirical analysis. International Journal of Electronic Commerce, 12(1), 69-91. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2753/JEC1086-4415120103?casa_token=yR0HtFO6WP8AAAAA:hizGlsF_D7XuED31L1tlfmgImhut1VEf6DGUPoHEDGgkgKpkmXwW0UUjxgY08BMOter78Ukte9NozlLBQQ

NortonLifelock, (n.d). Equifax Data Breach Affects Millions of Consumers. Here's what to do. Retrieved from https://www.lifelock.com/learn-data-breaches-equifax-data-breach-2017.html