In addition to these shocking figures, the company also found that cybercriminals mainly targeted data records to commit identity theft, since 54% of the violations involved the theft of personal data, compared to 23% the previous year. Other categories for violations included existential data, nuisance, account access and financial access. Most of the violations were committed by malicious outsiders, insiders or malicious hacktivists. Some offenses were also the result of state-sponsored hacks or accidental loss.
What industries and countries have failed in the past year?
Since the latest findings of the Breach index level are in the world, the company was able to provide a full breakdown of which industries and countries have been affected by violations worldwide . It is not surprising that retail is the top industry, representing 55% of offenses, with the financial sector taking the No. 2 spot with 20% of offenses. Embellished the list of industries were technology, education, government, healthcare and others. Another detail not so shocking was that North America had the highest number of incidents, with a total of 1,164 incidents including all 76% of violations in the world. These are divided further that 1,107 incidents in the United States and 57 in Canada.
How Exposure impact 1 billion data records that you
Whereas the United States has been the leader in data breaches last year, it is likely that your information was exposed in at least one leak - with or without your knowledge. These figures should should come as a wake up call for consumers to begin to take steps to protect their personal information in all aspects of their lives.
What can you do to prevent your information from being raped?
There is no surefire way to prevent your information from being violated, since it depends heavily on the security of the company, organization or agency you provide your information. That said, there are steps you can take to make sure you do your best to protect you.
1. Be proactive. Whenever we hear of a data breach, it is easy to assume that your information was not disclosed in the breach. While this may be a good way to keep you calm, ignoring the violation will not protect your identity. In fact, do not do your research or to take action after the announcement of a violation is the worst thing you can do. Instead, you must be proactive. This means setting strict privacy settings on your social media accounts, and checking your credit reports regularly to ensure that no fraudulent accounts are opened in your name.
One of the best options to stay proactive with your identity is to enroll in a protection service against identity theft. For less than $ 25 / month, these services monitor your personal information on the Web sites of the black market and public folder to make sure it will not be sold, traded or used by identity thieves. In addition, all the best services keep you updated with the activity on your credit reports by providing you with real-time alerts whenever something is changed or added to them. Services such as LifeLock ultimate Plus, realized the impact that violations have on the identity of a person. With the hope of warning customers sooner than later, he set up data breach alerts. And the best part is that most identity theft protection services offer some kind of free trial, which means that you can test the service without commitment. Visit our identity notice of protection against theft to see which services offer free trials and find the best service for your needs.
2. Report fraud immediately after detection. One of the easiest ways to see if your financial information has been breached or stolen is to monitor the activity of your bank accounts and credit cards. Instead of ignoring or trashing your monthly statement - you know you did, too - taking time each month to open it and comb through all transactions. Search everything on purchases or regular withdrawals or unrecognizable. If you see any, be sure to call your bank to find out more about these as soon as possible. Even a small amount should be reported as it may be a sign that your card was stolen, as we saw after the breach of the target.
3. Shred before throwing. After checking all the information on your statements are correct, you should shred them before discarding. This should be the case for any document that contains your information, such as credit card offers, bills and even junk mail. A good rule of thumb to determine what needs to be shredded is whether the document includes at least your name and address, you must destroy. The best way to do this is to invest in a shredder cross-cut - which will cut the paper into small pieces of paper confetti -. And make it your routine to shred everything before putting it in the trash
4. Use strong passwords. Since all of our online identities are protected by user names and passwords, it is essential that you choose a strong password. To meet the criteria "strong" password must contain a combination of six uppercase and lowercase letters, one number and one special character, like a @ or &. But creating a password is not enough. You will also need to make sure that you change your password at least twice a year to ensure that no one has access if disclosed. The best way to remember when it is time to change your password is to set an alarm on your phone or calendar. I do not know where to start? Follow this step by step guide to create a password for details.
5. Be skeptical and stay calm. If your information is exposed in a breach, you will probably be targeted for some kind of scam phone or email, similar to victims of Anthem violation. One of the best ways to avoid falling for a scam is to make sure that you stay calm and skeptical. Be sure to ask lots of questions - scammers are likely to avoid answering - and never provide personal information or click on links in an email. If you think the person communicating with you can be legitimate, hang up the phone and do not click on anything in the email itself, and instead call the company the person claims to be using a number phone from his business card or real website. Check out this blog for more information on how you can avoid falling for a scam.
Want to know more how you can protect your identity? Visit our identity protection against theft blog for more tips and stay updated on the latest violations.