This should be no secret to the many channel partners in Canada, but data security still faces major challenges.
IBM just released its 2014 IBM X-Force Threat Intelligence Quarterly which explores the latest security trends—from malware delivery to mobile device risks—based on 2013 year-end data and ongoing research.
In that report, IBM found the most commonly attacked industries and the surprising area that reached the top spot was Computer Services at 28 per cent. Other industries that get a lot of media attention such as telecommunications were further down the list.
After computer services, government was next at 15 per cent followed by financial services at 12 per cent.
Here are the rest:
- Media and entertainment at nine per cent;
- Education at seven per cent;
- Healthcare at five per cent;
- Retail at five per cent;
- Telco at five per cent;
- Consumer at three per cent;
- Non-profits at two per cent;
- Automotive at two per cent;
- Energy and utilities at two per cent;
- Transportation at one per cent;
- Aerospace at one per cent;
- Defense at one per cent; and
- Insurance at one per cent.
What is the cost of a data breach?
Well, according to the IBM report, data breaches have financial impact in terms of fines, loss of intellectual property, loss of customer trust, loss of capital. In 2013, the Ponemon Institute estimated $136 per lost record of data based on real-world data.
For example, a major retailer with millions of leaked credit cards could be looking at more than $1 billion in fines and other associate costs.
A university that leaded 40,000 records could be looking at up to $544,000 in losses.
