by Vaughn Morrison

Verizon’s RISK Unit worked with the U.S. Secret Service and the Dutch High Tech Crime Unit to prepare their annual Data Breach Investigation Report. The findings are summarized below.

Less Theft, But More Painful? – According to the study, the total number of records compromised through data breach decreased significantly compared to last year’s numbers. Unfortunately, this decrease is allegedly attributable in large part to a shift in target victims: fewer big companies, which yield larger results but are more difficult to crack, and more smaller companies, which provide fewer records but are more vulnerable to attack. While large companies may weather major breaches with effective damage control, the Wall Street Journal profiles two small business owners who really felt the blow.

The Cloud – With the proliferation of cloud computing services, questions have arisen about the security of data so easily accessible. The report states that they did not find a single instance in which data were breached specifically because it existed in the Cloud. While this may be encouraging news for the technology companies, Verizon is careful to make the larger point that giving up control of one’s data without compensating for the associated risks, does increase vulnerability to attack.

In line with both of these conclusions, Verizon is providing new data security services:

1) For smaller companies, Verizon Enterprise Identity Services offers its cloud-based two factor identification service: click here.

2) And for companies interested in beefing up their security long-term, their incident analytics service: click here.

The report itself can be found here.

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This information is presented for educational purposes and is not intended to constitute legal advice; see disclaimer at http://www.www.mmmtechlaw.com/privacy-policy-and-disclaimer/. Contact John Yates for more information at jyates@mmmlaw.com