By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data analytics in sports industry
    Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
    6 Min Read
    data analytics on nursing career
    Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
    8 Min Read
    data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
    Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
    9 Min Read
    data-driven image seo
    Data Analytics Helps Marketers Substantially Boost Image SEO
    8 Min Read
    construction analytics
    5 Benefits of Analytics to Manage Commercial Construction
    5 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Data Security – Why Your Investments May Not Be Enough
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
big data mac performance
Data-Driven Tips to Optimize the Speed of Macs
News
3 Ways AI Has Helped Marketers and Creative Professionals Streamline Workflows
3 Ways AI Has Helped Marketers and Creative Professionals Streamline Workflows
Artificial Intelligence
data analytics in sports industry
Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
Big Data
data analytics on nursing career
Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
Analytics
data analytics reveals the benefits of MBA
Data Analytics Technology Proves Benefits of an MBA
Analytics
Aa
SmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > IT > Security > Data Security – Why Your Investments May Not Be Enough
Security

Data Security – Why Your Investments May Not Be Enough

Anand
Last updated: 2016/06/28 at 12:35 PM
Anand
5 Min Read
SHARE

The 2015 hacking of the IRS database that gave criminals access to details of more than 700,000 tax payers in the United States raised several questions regarding the way cyber-security was handled by the government. According to the latest audit reports released by the Government Accountability Office, the IRS still lacks a number of important database controls to identify and authenticate users through password settings, restrict server access and encrypt data.

The 2015 hacking of the IRS database that gave criminals access to details of more than 700,000 tax payers in the United States raised several questions regarding the way cyber-security was handled by the government. According to the latest audit reports released by the Government Accountability Office, the IRS still lacks a number of important database controls to identify and authenticate users through password settings, restrict server access and encrypt data. The audit report concludes its assessment by noting that “although IRS has continued to make progress in addressing information security control weaknesses, it had not always effectively implemented access and other controls to protect the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of its financial systems and information.”

The GAO report should find resonance not only among the Government circles, but also among enterprise businesses that continue to fall prey to the latest cyber-hacking attempts. Some independent reports estimate that businesses lose as much as $400 billion each year due to hackers. Despite an increasing focus on data storage and access standards across organizations, security has remained a cat and mouse game where hackers continue to win on a fairly routine basis.

So why aren’t the increasing investments in data security not showing results? One of the major reasons is that a lot of cyber-hacking incidents involve an element of human gullibility. Take the instance of CIA Director John Brennan losing his AOL account to hackers – it involved the hackers posing as Verizon technicians to gather confidential details regarding the victim. Or, the latest revelations about how an embedded chip could be used to bypass security scans and exploiting Android devices – this exploit will not work unless the victim clicks on a link distributed by the hacker. In each of these cases, a momentary lapse of judgement is primarily how hackers gain entry into confidential systems.

More Read

anti-spoofing tips

Anti-Spoofing is Crucial for Data-Driven Businesses

Fortifying Enterprise Digital Security Against Hackers Weaponizing AI
How to Plan a Cybersecurity Strategy for Your Small Business
How Vulnerable Are Supply Chains to Hacking?
How IEC 62443 and Other Regulatory Requirements Help Enable IoT Security

Overcoming human gullibility is surely one of the biggest challenges to security professionals and this is not going away anytime soon. However, the loss due to this can be minimized through appropriate investments in data security. One area that has been gaining ground here is data monitoring. Databases Activity Monitoring (DAM) tools are today a part of legal compliance and it involves automating the collection of information about traffic interacting with your database, correlating this traffic with legitimate use and creating policies to prevent unauthorized access and offering prioritized response.

One big advantage of DAM is that it can nullify or at least partly minimize the risks due to human error. A hacker posing as a Verizon technician may not be provided access to the database if it were mapped for legitimate use. Similarly, an Android system that can compare hyperlinks with a real-time database of risky clicks will be able to prevent hackers from gaining ground among a lot of victims.

Besides building tools to intercept and minimize data loss due to human errors, technology can also help with teaching employees how to approach an unanticipated data security incident. When the stakeholders (the platform owner, the customers and the vendors) act in sync and according to pre-established protocol, any trail that does not align with the rest of the users can be tracked and access to it minimized before major database interceptions may be made.

Anand June 28, 2016
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share
By Anand
Follow:
Anand Srinivasan is the founder of Hubbion, a suite of business apps. The Hubbion Project Management app was ranked among the top 20 in its category for 2017 by Capterra.

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

big data mac performance
Data-Driven Tips to Optimize the Speed of Macs
News
3 Ways AI Has Helped Marketers and Creative Professionals Streamline Workflows
3 Ways AI Has Helped Marketers and Creative Professionals Streamline Workflows
Artificial Intelligence
data analytics in sports industry
Here’s How Data Analytics In Sports Is Changing The Game
Big Data
data analytics on nursing career
Advances in Data Analytics Are Rapidly Transforming Nursing
Analytics

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

anti-spoofing tips
Security

Anti-Spoofing is Crucial for Data-Driven Businesses

6 Min Read
Digital Security From Weaponized AI
Security

Fortifying Enterprise Digital Security Against Hackers Weaponizing AI

11 Min Read
Cybersecurity Plan
Security

How to Plan a Cybersecurity Strategy for Your Small Business

8 Min Read
Security

How Vulnerable Are Supply Chains to Hacking?

6 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

ai is improving the safety of cars
From Bolts to Bots: How AI Is Fortifying the Automotive Industry
Artificial Intelligence
AI chatbots
AI Chatbots Can Help Retailers Convert Live Broadcast Viewers into Sales!
Chatbots

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US

© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?