5 Huge Data Breaches – And How to Avoid Having One!

There was a time when businesses were data free. That’s not to say they did not store information, but it was on paper, in filing cabinets, and if someone wanted to look at it they would have to break in and search through rows and rows of files. 

Now, as we are all aware, data is an integral part of our lives, both professional and personal.

We log in and out of things on our phones, tablets and computers, leaving behind digital footprints, financial details, our addresses and much more. 

And we expect, or at least hope, that the people we are sharing with will have security in place. And more often than not, they do. But what happens when it goes wrong? When there is a crash?

5 Big Data Breaches:

1. Adult Friend Finder. 2016. Not a good one for those that had signed up despite being in a relationship. 412 million accounts were suddenly not so private any more. 
2. Canva. 2019. A really good design software used by millions was suddenly not so cool. Names, addresses, passwords, email addresses were all hacked. Now safe and secure and back to being a go to tool for amatuer designers. 
3. Dubsmash. 2018. Never heard of it? Neither had I, but 162 million users of this video messaging service in the US were suddenly less than happy that their messages were no longer private. 
4. Linkedin. 2016. When someone offers you access to 165 million email addresses of business people around the world, it’s time to say “Hey, where did they come from?” Well, Linkedin, that’s where, in 2016, their data was being hocked as well as hacked. 
5. Marriott. 2014-2018. Yes, the hackers were staying in Marriott Hotels, for free, in the data penthouse for four years before they were discovered. By which time 500 million people had had their data sold with a chocolate on the pillow. 

So how do you avoid your data being hacked? Not many will be of the scale of the Five Big Ones mentioned above, but even if it is ten customers, it is a breach that will cause trouble for you and your business. 

With ISO 27001 you will have put systems in place to prevent data being misused in your company. The Certification will also open new doors for you to apply for public sector tenders, many of which are now asking for it as a prerequisite.

To get your certification, and to prevent your name being quoted in the hacker’s delight section of the dark web, get in touch and we can take you through to ISO27001 certification .