DATA BREACHES
includesrecordsforpeopleintheUS, CanadaandtheUK.
Accordingto TechCrunch,thisyearhas seensomeofthemostdamagingdata breachesinhistory.In2024alone,hackers stolebillionsofpersonalrecords,andit’s almostguaranteedyourdataisamong thosestolenrecords.Let’slookatthis year’srecord-breakingattacksandwhat youneedtoknowaboutprotecting yourinformation.
National Public Data (2 Billion-Plus Records)
What happened: InDecember2023, hackersaccessedthesystemsofNational PublicData,abackground-check company.InApril,2.7billionrecords withhighlysensitivedatafor170million peoplewereleakedontothedarkweb.
Compromised data: 2billion-plus recordscontainingfullnames,currentand pastaddresses,SocialSecuritynumbers, datesofbirthandphonenumbers.
Change Healthcare (38 Million Records)
What happened: InFebruary,the UnitedHealth-ownedtechfirm
ChangeHealthcarewashackedbya Russianransomwaregangthatgained accessthroughsystemsunprotectedby multifactorauthentication.Theattack causedwidespreaddowntimefor healthcareinstitutionsacrosstheUS andcompromiseddataformany, manyAmericans.
UnitedHealthpaid$22milliontoprevent dataleaks,butanotherhackergroupclaimed tostillhavesomeofthestolenChange Healthcaredata.
Who is exposed: Estimateddataexposure forone-thirdoftheAmericanpopulation (likelymore).
Compromised data: Paymentinformation, SocialSecuritynumbersandmedicaldata, includingtestresults,diagnosesandimages.
AT&T
(Hacked TWICE)
What happened: InMarch,hackersreleased dataformorethan73millionpastandexisting AT&Tcustomersgoingbackto2019.Then,in July,datawasstolenfromanAT&Taccount thecompanyhadwithdatagiantSnowflake (moreonthatinabit).Reportedly,AT&Tpaid aransomtothehackerstodeletethedata. However,ifthisdataisleaked,itcouldexpose thedataofanyonecalledbyAT&Tcustomers, includingnoncustomers.
Who is exposed: 110million-pluspastand currentcustomersand,potentially, noncustomers.
Compromised data: Personalinformation, includingSocialSecuritynumbersand phonenumbers.
Synnovis
(300 Million Patient Interactions)
What happened: InJune,aUKpathologylab, Synnovis,wasattackedbyaRussian ransomwaregang.Theattackresultedin widespreadoutagesinhealthinstitutionsacross London.Reportedly,Synnovisrefusedtopay the$50millionransom.
Who is exposed: Pastandexistingpatientsin theUK.
Compromised data: 300millionpatient interactions,includingbloodtestresultsfor HIVandcancer,goingbackmanyyears.
Snowflake
(600 Million-Plus Recordings And Growing)
What happened: InMay,clouddatagiant Snowflakeannouncedasystembreachcaused bystolenemployeecredentials.Hundredsof millionsofcustomerrecordswerestolenfrom Snowflakecustomers,including560million fromTicketmaster,79millionfromAdvance AutoPartsand30millionfromTEG.
Who is exposed: Millionsofcustomersfrom manyofSnowflake’s165corporatecustomers, includingthosementionedabove,plusNeiman Marcus,SantanderBank,LosAngelesUnified SchoolDistrictandmanymore.
Compromised data: Customerrecords.
How To Protect Yourself
Youcan’tstopcompaniesfromgettinghacked. However,youcanpreventthesituationfrom worseningforYOUbytakingafewextrasteps toprotectyourdata.Here’swhattodo:
Review your health-related communications: Withsomany breachesaffectinghealthinstitutionsthis year,payattentiontoyourstatementof benefitsandlookforservicesyoudidn’t receive.Ifyouspotsomethingfishy,tell yourhealthcareproviderandinsurance companyrightaway.
Freeze your credit: Thiswillstop criminalsfromopeningacreditcardor loaninyourname.
Update your log-in credentials: Ifyou knowwhataccountswerehacked,change yourcredentials,andalsochangethe credentialstomajoraccountslikeyour bank.Setupalertstoo,soyou’re immediatelyawareofanyunusualactivity.
Be wary of e-mails: Afterabreach, hackersaccessallkindsofinformationand mayusethattosendfraudulente-mails. Slowdown,read carefullyandverify requestsbefore takinganyaction.
TheonlywaytoknowforSUREyourdatacanberecoveredif lost,corruptedordeleted–yetfewerthan10%ofbusinesses havethisinplace.
Seventhingsyoushouldabsolutelydemandfromanyoff-site backupservice.
Wheremanybackupsfailandgiveyouafalsesenseofsecurity. The#1causeofdatalossthatbusinessesdon’teventhinkabout untiltheirdataiserased.
Passionisthekeytosuccess–that’swhat manyofushavebeentaughttobelieve.Ifyou wanttobegreat,youmustbepassionate. However,TimGroverbelieveswe’vebeen toldwrong.
TimGroverisarenownedspeaker,author andperformancecoachwithover20yearsof experiencespeakingtobusinesses, entrepreneursandleadershipteamsaimingto bethetopintheirfields.Knownforhiswork withathleteslikeMichaelJordan,Kobe BryantandDwyaneWade,Groverteaches audiencesthemindsetofeliteprofessionalsso theycanapplyittotheirownsuccess.Ata recentindustryconference,Groversharedhis secrettosuccess:It’snotpassionthatequates tosuccess.It’sobsession.
Be Obsessed
Groverdrawsaclearlinebetweenbeing interestedinsomethingandbeingobsessed withit.“Interestispassive,”heexplains.Ifyou wanttotakeyourbusinesstothenextlevel, youmustbeallinbecausewhenyou’re obsessed,youpayattentiontoeverytiny detail.Asaperformancecoach,Groverread everyinjuryreportforhisathletessoheknew howtolacetheirshoes.Hewatchedhoursof videofootageandkneweverystepand landingsohecoulddesigntrainingplans. “That’sobsession,”hesays.“That’swhythey keptmearoundforsuchalongtime.”
Act On Your Passions
“Youdon’tfollowyourpassion,”Grover explains.“Youactonit.Youexcelatit.”In business,hesitationcanleadtomissed
opportunities.Onceadecisionismade,you mustfullycommittoitbecauseexcellenceisa longgame.Therewillbemomentsofpressure drivingyoubeyondyourcomfortzoneand momentsthatfeelveryisolating.“Excellence createsdistance.Itcreatesdistancebetween you,yourfriends,yourenemies,yourfamily, yourfreetime,”Groversays.Thisisolation isn’tnecessarilynegative;it’sabyproductof strivingforgreatness.Itwillseparateyoufrom everyonewhoisaverage–frompeoplewho don’tunderstandthebehind-the-sceneswork ittakestotrulysucceedinyourpassion. Peoplewilltrytopullyoudown,eitheroutof jealousyoralackofunderstanding,but excellencerequiresasingularfocusthatmany won’tunderstand.
Balance Is A Myth
Peopleoftensaythatsuccessfulpeopleneed balance.Groverarguesthatifyoutryto balanceeverything–work,life,relationships –whilestrivingforsuccess,you’llbemediocre atallofthem.You’llnevergrowifyou’re pulledintoomanydirections.Thekeyto successisditchingbalance,focusingonfewer, moreimportantprioritiesandcuttingout distractions.“Everyonehastimeforwhatthey putfirst,”heexplains.
Excellenceisalong-termjourneythat demandsobsession,actionandarefusalto settleformediocrity.“Writeyourownstory,” Groversays.Putdowntheself-helpbooksand “lookdeepdowninsideyourselfandstop lookingforeverybodyelsetogetyoutothat nextlevel.”
creativity combined, making it an unforgettable gift.
“For many years Divergys took care of my mom and dad’s computer needs When I came on board with our business in 2014, Divergys remained as my go to for all my IT needs We recently had to replace several computers and Divergys came in and made the transition easy and painless for us. Oh, and by the way, they’re not just a vendor for us, they are also a customer, love that! Thanks, Divergys, for all you do “
ARE YOU MANAGING YOUR VENDOR SECURITY RISKS?
Astheyearwindsdown,innovative businessesoftenreflectonwhat’sgoneright–andwhatneedsimprovement.Beyond wrappingupprojectsandplanningfornext year,onecriticaltaskshouldn’tbeoverlooked: managingvendorsecurityrisks.Vendorsplay anessentialroleinyourbusiness’ssuccess,but theyalsopresentaseverecybersecurityriskif youdon’tvetandmonitorthemeffectively, especiallyiftheyhandlesensitivedata.
What’s A Vendor Risk?
D. Zipped Information Protocol
By Dorie Clark
In a world where instant gratification rules and the pressure to achieve is relentless, Dorie Clark’s The Long Game is a refreshing call to step back, think strategically and invest in your future self Clark, a renowned business strategist and Duke University professor, makes a compelling argument for shifting our focus away from tempting short-term wins to more gratifying long-term successes Clark shares practical frameworks and real-world stories that show how seemingly minor efforts lead to significant achievements if we’re patient and persistent With engaging storytelling and actionable insights, The Long Game encourages readers to step back from the daily grind, prioritize what truly matters and invest in their future selves.
Manybusinessesrelyontrustedvendors, suchascloudservicesorfile-sharingtools, tocarryoutday-to-dayoperations.Ifthat vendorgetshacked,yoursensitivedatais suddenly–anddangerously–exposed.A perfectexampleisthe2023MOVEit Transferbreach,whereattackersexploited vulnerabilitiesinthevendor’ssoftware, givingthemaccesstocriticaldatalike customerinformationandbusinessrecords forthousandsoforganizations.BlueVoyant’s StateofSupplyChainDefensereportshowed thatorganizationsexperienced,onaverage, 4.16supplychainbreachesin2023that impactedoperations.
Vendorbreachesaremorethanannoying–theycouldalsoleadtodataloss,diminished customerloyaltyorevenlegalissues.This year,consideraddingthesebestpracticesto yourend-of-yearreviewtomanageyour vendorrisk:
1. Review Vendor Contracts
Likeyou,vendorsneedtobeheld accountableforfollowingindustry-standard practiceslikeencryption,securedatastorage andincidentresponseprotocols.Startyour vendorriskreviewbycheckingtoseeifyour contractshavethenecessarysecurityclauses, andmakesureyouragreementsoutlinethese
expectationsclearlysoyouandyourvendors knowwhat’satstake.
2. Conduct Vendor Security Audits
Ifyouhaven’tdoneitrecently,it’stimefora thoroughsecurityauditofyourhigh-risk vendors.Thiswillhelpyouunderstandif they’reimplementingstrongcybersecurity measures,suchasmultifactorauthentication, encryptionandregularsystemupdates. Knowingwhereyourvendorsstandgives youabetterhandleonyourownsecurity.
3. Monitor For Emerging Risks
Cyberthreatsevolvequicklyandsodothe risksyourvendorsface.Regularmonitoring ofyourvendor’ssecuritypractices,like trackingvulnerabilitiesorbreaches,willkeep youontopofanyemergingthreats.
4. Update Your Vendor List
Nowisagoodtimetocleanhouse.Cutties withvendorswhoaren’tlivinguptoyour securitystandardsandtightenyour relationshipwiththosewhoareproactive aboutprotectingyourdata.Consider creatingstandardizedonboardingand offboardingprocessesforvendors,too,soold vendorsdon’thaveunwarrantedaccessto yourorganization.
BEWARE OF WIFI SQUATTING
Whendidyoulastcheckwhohasaccessto yourWiFinetwork?Ifit’sbeenawhile,you’ll probablybesurprisedbywho’shanging around.ManagingyourWiFiaccessisan importantsteptokeepingyourdatasafe becauseunwantedWiFisquatterscould,at best,slowyourWiFispeedsand,atworst, haveaccesstoanydeviceorfileconnectedto yournetwork,likehouseholdsecurity cameras.ToseewhohasaccesstoyourWiFi, findyourrouter’sIPaddress(youcanfind
instructionsonline abouthowtodothis), typetheIPaddress intoyourbrowser andlogin.Next,look foralistcalled“DHCP Client”or“Connected Devices.”Reviewthe list,andifanyunknown devicesareonit,updateyourWiFipassword andreconnectonlythedevicesyoutrust.