Summary
Each year, Verizon investigates corporate data breaches and publishes its findings in the Data Breach Investigation Report (DBIR). While much of this focuses on security for businesses, there are still lessons anyone can learn from the report.
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Every year, a team at Verizon researches data breaches and analyzes what we can learn from them. Verizon summarizes its findings in its annual Data Breach Investigation Report, or DBIR. While the DBIR focuses more on security for business, it does contain some statistics that can teach everyone some lessons.
For Personal Tech Media, this is Two Minute Tech. I’m Jim Herman.
First, half of all social engineering attacks used pretexting. Pretexting involves creating fake situations that trick people into providing personal data. Be very cautious when contacted by someone, even if it’s someone you know. It could be a compromised account or a fake voice.
Second, insiders were responsible for 19% of all data breaches. The threats to your information don’t only come from people you don’t know. They can also be caused unintentionally by you or another member of your family. Ensure you lock down your shared devices and pay attention to who has access to them.
Third, almost one third of attacks that exploited a particular issue occurred within 30 days of that vulnerabilities release. The criminals are getting faster than ever at exploiting security issues. That’s why updating devices as soon as possible is important.
Fourth, only one out of every twenty data breaches last year was motivated by something other than money. Now, the only thing that might surprise you about this is that there are a few that aren’t motivated by money. However, ensure you are proceeding carefully any time money is involved. Don’t let yourself get scammed out of your hard earned dollars.