Cyber Hygiene – Six Common Mistakes that Facilitate Data Breaches

Threat actors are increasingly targeting employee and customer data information while appearing less interested in financial information and credentials, according to research from the cybersecurity firm Imperva. Notably, Imperva’s research also found that 32 percent of data breaches are due to unsecured databases and social engineering attacks.

Imperva’s research identified the six most common mistakes made by organizations and individuals that enable data breaches:

• Absence of multi-factor authentication
• Limited visibility into all data repositories
• Poor password policies
• Misconfigured data infrastructures
• Limited vulnerability protection
• Failing to learn from past breaches

In addition, according to Imperva’s research, theft of credit card information and password details dropped by 64 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. Nonetheless, personally identifiable information (PII) is valuable and enables attackers’ to leverage the stolen data to defraud victims. Read more at HelpNetSecurity.