Data breaches are growing in cost and frequency. Here are five key data breach trends to know for this year, according to the 2015 Second Annual Data Breach Industry Forecast report from Experian.
1. The rise and fall of payment breaches. Traditional retail payment breaches will become more difficult to perpetrate. Chip and PIN technology will be a requirement in October 2015. Hackers will likely begin to focus on different areas of vulnerability.
2. Cloud data targeting. Breaches involving usernames, passwords and other information stored in the cloud could be on the rise this year. Security plans should include ways to reset passwords on a large scale and prompt notification for those who are affected, according to the report.
3. Growing threat of healthcare breaches. The threat of healthcare data breaches has been apparent for some time, and the report predicts the threat will only grow. The movement to EHRs and increase in wearable technologies could increase the potential for breaches.
4. Leadership accountability. IT departments have traditionally been held accountable for data breaches, but as the incidence of breaches increase accountability is climbing higher up the chain of command. Executive leadership will increasingly be held responsible for lapses in data security and championing security initiatives.
5. Employee errors. Last year, U.S. companies reported $40 billion in losses that can be traced back to unauthorized computer usage by employees, according to the report. To err is human, and employee mistakes are a top concern when it comes to data breaches.