Criminal hackers hack for fun, fame, revenge,
trade secrets, or terror, but mostly they hack for financial gain. According to
a data breach study, based on 75 incidents in the second half of 2010, 13% of
web hacking cases involved leaked client data leading to financial fraud. (The
top two reasons hackers attacked websites were site defacement at 15% and site
downtime at 33%.)
Once customer information is hacked, it can be used to
open new accounts or to take over existing accounts. It often takes only a few
hackers to crack a system containing millions of customer records. These thieves will then broker
and sell the information to other hackers.
The victims find and repair the
vulnerabilities in their systems, but the damage has already been done. The
individuals whose data has been compromised face an uphill, ongoing battle to
protect themselves from financial fraud.
Protecting small business customer data starts with
network security basics including:
Software: Antivirus, antiphishing,
antispyware. Total protection “all access” suites of protection and full disk
encryption
Hardware: Routers, firewall security appliances
Physical security: Commercial grade solid core doors, security alarm systems, security cameras.