Data breaches targeting all industries
Storing sensitive data is a critical component of countless organizational strategies. Companies whose primary task is to store such data ought to concern itself especially with protecting it from bad actors. This will be a lesson drilled in with data storage giant Western Digital, which recently announced a security incident in which data was exfiltrated from its network. Details of the breach are still ambiguous, but ransomware may have been involved. Western Digital has confirmed that its business operations have been and will continue to be disrupted as a consequence. The company is also proceeding with “proactive measures to secure its business operations” and an ongoing investigation into the incident.
Soon after the initial news broke, however, hackers claiming responsibility stepped forward to demand a massive ransom payment in exchange for the data. Totaling about 10 terabytes of data, this unsurprisingly includes customer information, for which the hackers have asked for a “minimum of eight figures” in payment. Otherwise, they threaten to go public with the data. According to the hackers, Western Digital has so far proven unresponsive to their ‘magnanimous’ outreach attempts to enable the ransom payment.
In other news, several major fast food chains have just been affected by a data breach. Yum! Brands, which owns such names as KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, recently sent breach notification letters to an unspecified number of people that the company’s network had been infiltrated and some data stolen through ransomware. Some of the personal information included names, driver’s licenses and other ID card numbers.
Beyond the risks to employees, this incident has had some markedly visible real world consequences. Around 300 Yum! Brands restaurants in the UK were completely shut down for a day, as they reported to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Though the company doesn’t forecast financial damage in this case, repercussions from a security incident can always sneak up on you even when you think you’re in the clear.
Data security impacts all manner of industries. Whether you’re just storing data as part of your organization’s standard operations, or it’s your chief business, taking all necessary measures to ensure cyber criminals can’t abscond with this vital commodity remains a top priority. Don’t let cyber criminals try to use your assets against you: keep it encrypted.
If you are unclear on how to protect your data, read our best practices for data security here. Contact us for more information and a free eval or consultation. Remember, cybersecurity is more important today than ever before. It is imperative that security policies are made and reviewed now before there is a breach.