The longer an organization waits to act on a data breach, the greater the risk that stolen information will be misused. This can give the company more stress about negative press and reputational damages. And while a response is essential, organizations must ensure they strike a balance and prioritize action. While legal protocols and regulations are only an aspect of what guides a data breach response, ensuring that the company maintains the trust and goodwill of its stakeholders is of paramount interest.
Organizations need to realize that data breaches can cause immense risk for numerous parties. These include:
- People whose personal credentials have been disclosed
- The breached company itself, due to the likelihood of fines, lawsuits, reputational and financial damages, and unauthorized access.
- Third-party associates, service agencies, and any business that offers an asset and has been affected by the stolen data
When organizations act swiftly in responding to a data breach, they are likely to reduce the risk of harm to their crucial stakeholders. Let’s look into the three common ways to minimize liability in the event of a data breach:
- Depreciate the value of stolen information.
- Observe, monitor, and respond accordingly
- Execute added access controls
Role of passwords in Data Breach Prevention
The digitization of data has been a novel experience that has enhanced lives across the world. A crucial advantage of digitizing data, is that in theory, it is effortless and straightforward to disseminate information, can be changed easily, and accessed remotely without delay. And these are the precise qualities that can help organizations minimize risk swiftly if a data breach is discovered.
If, in a recent data breach, it is revealed that passwords have been exposed, how can organizations reduce the risk of damage?
The most obvious answer is to change the passwords in the authentication system. This means the disclosed information can no longer be used to access important content for which the passwords were originally used. To cut down risks, it is crucial that passwords be changed as often as possible, and especially so when a suspected breach is discovered.
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However, the disadvantage of changing passwords in a recent data breach is that it can be counterproductive and inconvenient to users and employees, who may have a variety of choices in the services they use. The changing of passwords can also result in additional hassle for employees and customer IT support staff.
Payment card details in Data Breach Prevention
Although not as ephemeral as passwords, the numbers of payment cards also need to be changed in the event of a recent data breach. In most of the data breach examples, we have witnessed that if payment card numbers and credit card information is stolen, it can cause additional money to remake those cards, which are literally embossed onto individual cards and distributed to cardholders.
The time and effort taken to implement new cards and deliver them to consumers can be an added cost. Additionally, the issue of servicing agitated customers who have been exposed to a data breach is also substantial. In addition, there is also the hassle of depending on data.
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Most consumers tend to set up auto-pay modes to pay their bills on a static payment card number. So, when there is a change in the card number, it calls for additional work and annoyance for customers who have to take the time and effort to figure out all their other payment methods. This is why financial institutions and banks choose not to change card numbers after witnessing a number of data breach examples despite knowing a card number has been exposed or stolen.
Stolen Social Security numbers (SSNs) in Data Breach Prevention
As the epitome of data dependency, SSNs are vital for every American throughout their life. At times when victims are aware that their SSN has been exposed, the Social Security Administration may not change it if there is no valid proof of identity theft.
And even if you successfully lobby for a new number, the Social Security Administration forewarns that a new number will probably not resolve all problems. This is because various other governmental businesses such as the state motor vehicle agencies and the IRS, including private companies such as banks have records placed under the old number.
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In addition to personal information, the SSN is also used to identify your credit record by credit reporting agencies. Hence, getting a new number is not a guarantee or a fresh start. In short, this means there is no effective way of changing your SSN and devaluing the data if you discover it has been stolen.
This was plainly evident when the Data breach Equifax surfaced, and the US government did not have the necessary support to alter 145.5 million Social Security numbers. The data breach examples like the data breach at Equifax were an exemplary chapter for the world which further shows that the risk resulting from the data breach remained uncontrolled.
Whether you are a business head or an individual, you need to ensure that your critical assets are protected from the ever-changing attacks of data criminals and their recent data breach attempts. Digital rights management is a globally recognized, data security solution that secures your sensitive documents, content, and data wherever they reside.
If your business stores confidential or sensitive information in PDF files, then PDF DRM can protect your PDFs from being stolen or shared. When it comes to protecting PDFs that need to be shared with authorized users, PDF DRM enables you to restrict editing, copying, sharing, screen grabs, and printing. You can also add dynamic watermarks to identify users, and automatically expire and revoke documents at any time.
PDF DRM secures your information so that you can help eliminate present and emerging threats. This means you do not have to spend your time and resources on protecting what matters most to you, but instead look to innovating for your customers with the peace of mind that DRM document security solution is protecting your data.
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