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February 17, 2017 •
Protecting company networks and systems from cyber security attacks keeps not only company proprietary information safe, but also ensures customers are not taken advantage of for personal information and login credentials. But what about the cost implications of large scale data breaches?
As the New York Times reports, Yahoo! Inc. has now claimed that on top of a 2014 data breach which affected 500 million customers, a new data breach from earlier in 2013 could have compromised over 1 billion user accounts. The breach targeted customer information such as names, phone numbers, encrypted passwords and security questions, and even customer’s dates of birth. The article notes that Yahoo as a company has taken less measures than counterparts in the same industry, such as Facebook and Google, to prioritize cyber security.
Making matters worse for the company, Yahoo agreed to sell core business operations to Verizon Communications. The settled amount of the acquisition was $4.8 billion. Verizon, discovering the two data breaches, said it was reviewing the data breach and its subsequent impact before drawing any conclusions on the case. The breach affected not only customers from Yahoo, but also from Yahoo’s partners. Namely AT&T and Sky.com, which could also have impacted their customer data as well. (http://fortune.com/2016/12/16/yahoo-hack-verizon-deal/)
Still unable to identify the intrusion of the largest recorded data breach, Verizon was successfully able to renegotiate the cost of the deal, and effectively reduce it by $250 million.
This cut exemplifies the importance of cyber security, and the cost benefits of having a secure system. Experts agree that even after a data breach, companies are less likely to employ added measures to mitigate future attacks, as it is often engrained in the culture of the company to take these measures for granted.
Technology is also changing since these attacks. More users and devices are connecting to company systems, and more work than ever is being completed over the cloud. Companies must look to cyber security measures to stop attacks before they happen, and prevent criminals from accessing important user data.
As a first defence, adding two-factor authentication to any online user login or VPN is one of the best ways to stop cyber attacks. LoginTC is one of the most secure solutions, with easy to understand documentation and connectors, and outstanding customer support. To learn more about two-factor authentication and the instances in which it can help keep your company’s systems safe, please visit Solutions.