Business Can't Keep Up With Shifting Cyber-Threats

Coping with data breaches is a daunting task, and the problem keeps getting worse. A recently released study conducted by Gemalto (formerly SafeNet), found that hackers are continuing to bypass conventional perimeter security with relative ease, and they are targeting nearly every industry. The "2015 First Half Review" also found that threats are changing, but many organizations aren't keeping up. While identity theft remains the leading risk for a data breach, cyber-criminals are increasingly targeting data records from health care organizations and government, as the recent Anthem Insurance and U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) breaches illustrate. "Most companies are not able to protect their data once their perimeter defenses are compromised," said Jason Hart, vice president and CTO for Data Protection, Gemalto. "What is needed is a data-centric view of digital threats, starting with better identity and access control techniques including multifactor authentication and strong encryption to render sensitive information useless to thieves." Overall, the study examined 888 data breaches that took place during the first half of the year, which included about 246 million records worldwide. Gemalto examined a variety of sources, including Internet searches, news articles and Internet analysis to develop its Breach Level Index. Here's a look at some of the key findings.