@Risk

Yesterday I posted about how the tumult in today’s business environment (layoffs, corporate restructuring programs, etc.) can increase the potential for fraud and theft from employees. But, of course, you need to be aware of information threats from other sources, as well. Sometimes a data breach stems from something relatively straightforward, such as a lost or stolen laptop. In other cases, digital forensics are necessary to track down thornier root causes, such as hacks and malware.

The world-renowned Verizon Business RISK Team has investigated more than 600 data breaches over the past five years, and the team recently published its 2009 Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) , which provides statistics and analysis regarding the 90 confirmed breaches in the team’s 2008 caseload. These 90 breaches represent an astounding 285 million compromised records –if that’s not a wake-up call to cybercrime, I’m not sure what is.

Here’s a small sampling of the statistical analysis of the team’s 2008 caseload:

Who was behind these breaches?

• 74% resulted from external sources
• 20% were caused by insiders
• 32% implicated business partners
• 39% involved multiple partners

How did the breaches occur?

• 67% were aided by the significant errors
• 64% resulted from hacking
• 38% utilized malware
• 22% involved privilege misuse
• 9% occurred via physical attacks

This 50-page report is a valuable resource that can help you plan your security strategies. First, it includes fascinating insights into digital forensic investigations. (Are you aware the more and more records are being breached with custom-created, remotely installed malware? Did you know that the use of default and/or shared credentials significantly increases your risk of a data breach?)  Then, Verizon concludes the report with a list of recommendations to help mitigate your risk (align process with policy, secures business partner connections, etc.).  I highly recommend adding this paper to your summer reading list.