Computer Security Technology Ltd

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January 29, 2018

Seven of the Major Data Security Breaches of 2017

2017 was the year of many a cyber-attack on the healthcare industry, causing untold damage and disruption. However, it was not just the Healthcare industry that suffered at the hands of cyber-criminals. No industry is safe from an attack, even if you have security measures in place. Data breaches manifest in many different forms and cyber-criminal’s methods are becoming more and more advanced. Don’t allow your business to be the subject of headline news; now is the time to take action against hackers damaging your reputation.

Let’s cast our minds back to January 2017, when Lloyds Banking Group were subject to a denial of service attack which attempted to block access to 20 million customer accounts. The perpetrators were caught by Lloyds’ security system and the situation was rectified swiftly, thanks to their security measures. Also in the same month, the Barts Health Trust fell victim to a Trojan attack which affected fundamental operations across the five hospitals it manages resulting in major disruption. 

In February, it was the travel industry’s turn to suffer data theft. Cyber-criminals managed to obtain records of 43,000 Abta customers, which resulted in the company offering the affected customers an identity theft protection service at Abta’s expense.

Mobile phone company Three hit our headlines in March when an employee’s password was stolen and 200,000 customer records were compromised. As money lending firm Wonga discovered in April when customer data was seized containing bank account details, sort codes, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and more. 

Debenhams were exposed to a major data breach in May when cyber-criminals gained access to 26,000 customer accounts through a third-party e-commerce website. This highlights the importance of not only ensuring your data privacy measures are water tight, but your partners, suppliers, and any other third party’s measures are as stringent as your own. 

The WannaCry cyber-attack in the healthcare industry caused extensive damage, after 26 million NHS customers data was subject of a major security breach. Precautions have since been put in place to avoid, and in some cases, prevent any future data losses before they happen.

Moving forward to 2018, the key to a successful cyber defence strategy is preparation. Read our 10 Top Tips for Cyber Defence & Information Protection that provide structured and targeted advice for Information Best Practice or click here to find out more about our Workshops, specifically designed to help you understand where you stand and understand best practice improvements. 

Get your 2018 off to the best start possible and contact the CST Sales Team today.