In 2022 the U.S. counted 1,802 reports of compromised data. Even more, 422 million users were impacted because their information was stolen, leaked, or compromised in breaches.
When an incident like this happens, most companies focus on strengthening security and patching up vulnerabilities that enabled the data breach in the first place.
While this is a reasonable strategy, they miss one important factor that can aid them in keeping the data safe in the long run — having an effective data management solution.
The reality is, we read about a new high-profile data breach almost every day.
Here, we take a dive into the three highly impactful data breaches. What can we learn from them and which data management solution is suitable for a company of that kind?
#1 – DC Health Link Breach Compromised Congress Members
On 10 March 2023, the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority disclosed that a data breach occurred within the organization. The incident affected the users of their program known as DC Health Link — a health insurance service mostly used by Congress members.
The organization hasn’t yet disclosed how many customers have been affected by this breach. On the dark web, bad actors posted that they have as many as 170,000 data records they intend to post for sale.
The healthcare industry is one of the top targets when it comes to damaging data breaches. The sensitive information stored within their systems often includes users’ private information such as home addresses and social security numbers.
In the wrong hands, that same data can be used to demand ransom or be sold via underground hacking forums. Information such as social security numbers and names is enough for data theft.
How to secure private user data
One type of data management tool that can help is a Database Management Solution (DBMS). Some of the capabilities of this automated management tool include restoring, deleting, securing, and organizing data.
#2 – AT&T’s Breach Affecting 9 Million Users
On January 6, 2023, AT&T suffered a data breach after hackers uncovered unsecured cloud data storage of a third-party vendor. In March, nine million customers were notified that their accounts had been compromised in a breach.
Some of the information that was stolen by the hacker includes email addresses, names, wireless accounts, and mobile phone numbers.
The telecommunications company is investigating the attack and strengthening its security.
The data that was stolen can be sold to the threat actors to further criminal activity. For instance, mobile phone numbers can be used for SMS phishing. Emails and names can be used for email phishing schemes.
In recent months, other telecommunication giants have disclosed breaches that also affected the data of millions of users — Optus, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
How to manage a large amount of data in your system
In the case of AT&T, the cybercriminals exploited the flaw that took place in the third-party cloud. To keep up with the data that is coming from multiple sources, businesses use the master data management tool (MDM).
MDM enables them to retain visibility of the information by uniting the data incoming from versatile IT systems all in one place.
The tool is designed to enforce accurate identification of the information and improve and secure the flow of the data between versatile systems used by an organization.
#3 – Verizon’s Data Breach Compromised the Information of Millions
In January 2023, it was disclosed that Verizon, a wireless network operator, suffered yet another data breach. The incident came to light when a bad actor claimed on hacking forums that they hold the data records of 7.5 million users.
They claimed to have information concerning both mobile and subscription details.
The company claims that no personally identifiable information was leaked in this breach.
The data that the hacker got their hands on includes the type of devices customers used to connect to Verizon’s services as well as other services that users have subscribed to — such as Disney Plus.
Verizon claims that a third-party vendor was at fault for the security incident.
This security incident is very similar to the data breach that took place at AT&T. Millions of users were affected. Also, the vulnerabilities of the outside vendor were supposedly at fault for the hacking and data breach that followed.
That hasn’t been the first data breach that happened to Verizon over the last five years either. In May 2022, the company disclosed another data breach in which hackers managed to obtain the names and corporate ID numbers of employees.
How to retain visibility
To secure and keep track of where large amounts of data are located, businesses can use a basic DMS, or an MDM if the data is coming from multiple sources.
The Path Towards Better Data Management
The data management solution that suits the needs of a business the most is the right fit. For instance, some companies prioritize the growth of their business and scaling of the data, while others want to work on organizing their eCommerce product information.
For companies that store a lot of sensitive user data, security is a top priority.
There’s more to data management than securing the information that a company stores within its systems. Retaining control (visibility) over data also matters.
During times like these when everything is getting more complex, it’s important to have a solution that simplifies the process of managing data.
This means that the optimal data solution needs to have an interface that is intuitive to use by any member of the security team, expert or otherwise.
Even more, the data management tools should be automated and capable of processing, identifying, analyzing, cataloging, securing, and cleaning a large amount of data that is coming to the system of a business.
In short — businesses are collecting more data than ever and streamlined data management systems that can secure the data in the case of a data breach is a necessity.
