Things to remember from this year are password security, securing remote access, and PCI compliant firewalls.
Read our data visualization: 2016 PCI DSS Data Breach Trends.
2016 has seen a fair amount of data breaches, large and small, but are there any trends? And what can we learn from these breaches? Are hackers up to new tricks or going back to the basics? And have organizations improved at all in their security?
We analyzed the breached organizations our forensics team investigated this past year to see if any trends and patterns were happening in 2016. By looking at past data breaches, we can help organizations protect themselves against future ones.
See also: 2016 Data Breach Predictions from SecurityMetrics PCI Compliance Guide
Here are a few trends we discovered:
The average breached organization was vulnerable for 1,021 days.
That’s a lot of time for hackers to find a way into your network. The problem many organizations have with vulnerability is they don’t realize they’re vulnerable until it’s too late and they’ve already been breached.
See also: How Long are Businesses Vulnerable Before a Security Breach?
39% of breached organizations were breached through insecure remote access. Hackers love it when organizations use remote access, because it’s often not fully secure, providing them an easy pathway to their sensitive data. While working from home may be more convenient for your employees, if you’re not securing it properly, you’re putting your data at risk.
See also: Configuring Your Remote Desktop Connection: What You’re Doing Wrong
22% of breached organizations were breached through weak passwords. For many organizations, it’s easier to use simple passwords and share passwords among systems. While that may be good for convenience, it’s terrible for security. Passwords made with common dictionary words are easily guessed by hackers and can be cracked with the right tools.
See also: How to Do Passwords Right: Password Management Best Practices
89% of breached organizations had a firewall in place at the time of compromise, and 44% of firewalls didn’t meet PCI requirements. Firewalls need to have their rules configured to meet PCI requirements. Having a firewall doesn’t automatically make your organization more secure, especially if you don’t define and review the firewall rules.
See also: Firewalls 101: 5 Things You Should Know
See also: Configuring and Maintaining Your Firewall with SecurityMetrics Managed Firewall
Some things to remember from this year are password security, securing remote access, and PCI compliant firewalls. Make sure your firewalls perform properly and are configured to your organization’s unique environment. You should also implement policies on password and remote access security, and consistently train your employees on them.
In general, organizations need to be more aware of the state of their data security. If you have the mentality that a data breach will never happen to you, it’s likely already happened.
Want to learn more about our PCI forensic investigation results from 2016? Check out our data visualization: 2016 PCI DSS Data Breach Trends.