Security | Threat Detection | Cyberattacks | DevSecOps | Compliance

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the massive increase in using cloud computing services. As the world progresses through its online evolution, cloud computing services have become more of a necessity. However, along with businesses, cybercriminals have also seen this virtualization as a means of snagging more prey. The rapid increase in cloud computing services has made organizations face novel security challenges.

The trend of global data breach events is steep and still continuing to tilt upwards. According to the latest data breach investigation report by IBM and the Ponemon Institute, data breach costs in 2021 have reached a record high. Last year, the average cost was US$3.83 million, and this year it has peaked at US$4.24 million. Mitigating these events involves comprehensive management of the entire attack surface, including the third, and even fourth-party vendor network.

There’s an old saying that “there’s no such thing as bad publicity.” Unfortunately, this doesn’t ring true when it comes to data breaches and ransomware attacks. High profile security incidents continue to make headlines, and those headlines are impacting bottom lines. In response to these, the US federal government is modernizing its own cybersecurity infrastructure, and more state governments are implementing laws to protect citizens.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Act is a broad set of data privacy rules that define how an organization must handle and protect the personal data of citizens of the European Union (EU). The Regulation also outlines the way that organizations can report a data breach. Articles 33 and 34 outline the requirements for breach notification; however, most businesses are still unaware of their responsibilities.

Data breaches are now part of doing business, with many companies having been affected. Data is very valuable to criminals because it is often used to commit fraudulent activities as well as to enhance the credibility of scams. Data that is stolen ranges from Social Security Numbers (SSNs) to other identification documents and payment details.