Beazley's Top Five Ways to Avoid a Data Breach

Featuring Guest Blogger: Robin Fischer

With constant media attention on breaches at Home Depot, eBay, Albertson’s, Target, and so on, you might think that breaches are inevitable. Ponemon recently published their annual study on data breaches and found that a staggering 43% of companies has experienced a data breach in the past year. While it is a certainty that all organizations face threats, there are definitely steps that you can take to reduce the likelihood that a breach occurs, or at least reduce the impact of a breach.  Think of it as akin to locking your doors and windows at night, and not leaving expensive jewelry lying on the dresser.  There are basic steps that organizations can take that will deter a lot of nefarious activity, sending it down the block to someone who hasn’t implemented common defenses.

At the recent International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) annual meeting, cyber insurer Beazley presented analysis of 1,500 data breaches from 2013 and 2014. Their key findings are summarized here.