Capital One is the Latest Enterprise to Hit the Headlines Over a Data Breach
On Monday, July 29, 2019, Capital One Financial Corp. announced that more than 100 million of its credit card customers and card applicants in the U.S. and Canada had their personal information hacked in one of the largest data breaches ever.
Paige Thompson, a software engineer in Seattle, is accused of breaking into a Capital One server and gaining access to 140,000 Social Security numbers, 1 million Canadian Social Insurance numbers and 80,000 bank account numbers in addition to an undisclosed number of people’s names, addresses, credit scores, credit limits, balances, and other information. The Justice Department released a statement Monday confirming that Thompson has been arrested and charged with computer fraud and abuse.
As the CISO of a global IT solutions provider, I am always hesitant to comment on these situations because if it can happen to one of the biggest players in the industry, then everyone is at risk. Bad actors have unlimited time, resources and motivations—that’s why advancing a cybersecurity program is critical to every organization’s maturity process. We, the cybersecurity community, must do better collectively.
While the Capital One data breach is staggering with more than 100 million affected, this is just another event in a long list of massive data incidents during recent years, including Equifax, Marriott, Home Depot, Uber, and Target. Adding to the list of compromised information, “improper access or collection of user’s data” like Cambridge Analytica or WhatsApp have also made recent unsettling headlines.
Don’t Wait for Hackers to Find the Vulnerabilities from Within
Court filings in the Capital One case report that a “misconfigured web application firewall” enabled the hacker to gain access to the data. As infrastructures, support structures, and data flows become more complex, the security and need for visibility exponentially increases. Fundamentals like asset management, patching, and user access with role-based access is critical and cannot be over looked.
These pillars of protection are achievable with the help of experienced partners, like the managed security experts at Ntirety, focused on finding and filling any gap in existing infrastructure and applications.
Learn more about how Ntirety’s Managed Security services can be the better shield for your data against hackers. >>
Take Charge on a Personal Level by Using a Passphrase
Even with all the internal work and effort businesses put towards protecting data, consumers should still take precautions and be proactive protecting their identity. Never give personal information out over the phone—even if the caller appears to be from a reputable organization like Capital One. Phishing scams through calls, emails, and text messages are only increasing. Even offers for IT protection from unvetted parties can be attempts to gather or “fill in” additional information for malicious purposes.
One of the quickest ways to boost protection of your personal information is to change your password to a passphrase. Create a great passphrase in three easy steps:
- Use personally *meaningless* passphrases
- A pseudo-random mixed 15-character password
- Pick a minimum of 4 words—RANDOMLY
Simply combining random words (like DECIDE OVAL AND MERRY = Decide0val&andmerry) can build a new passphrase far more secure than “12345” or “password1”.
Let Partners Provide You Peace of Mind Against Security Threats
While every individual should be an active participant in protecting their identity and personal data, enterprise companies can’t ignore the devastating regularity of these hacks and breaches. IT security is a crucial component for any modern business, and equally important is the constant vigilance to keep those security measures validated and updated. Vulnerabilities emerge with every new technological advance, making an experienced partner to keep a steadfast watch necessary to allow organizations’ own IT teams to focus on innovation and business goals.
Ntirety’s Managed Security services bridges the gaps every company faces as systems, tools, and data grow rapidly. Expert monitoring and risk reduction and mitigation from trusted IT partners empower internal teams to focus on pushing business forward. Don’t trust that your basic security is enough to keep your company out of the hacker headlines—get real peace of mind with cybersecurity experts like Ntirety watching your backend systems, infrastructure, and applications.
Schedule a consultation with Ntirety today to proactively protect your data from hacker threats and data breaches.
