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Credit card vulnerability demonstrates need for better data security solutions

By now, cybersecurity industry observers should know that breaches do not occur in a vacuum. Rarely do the effects of a network incursion begin and end at the event itself. Breach fallout can stretch on for months or even years, continuing to cut into a victim's bottom line until every vulnerability and pervading issue has been addressed. This may include making amends with affected clientele, easing public concerns regarding data security or adhering to industry and government regulations. With all of these mitigating factors hanging in the air, another wrinkle can emerge without warning. Just when a victim believes it's out of the woods, another critical issue may arise.

When Target experienced a major cybersecurity breach last year, it made headlines for months as officials coped with the fallout. Although news stories about the event had begun to peter out recently, an advisory just released by the United States Secret Service could quickly ramp up interest in that breach once again. A number of breaches connected to the "Backoff" malware have been reported to the federal agency within the past year, prompting it to issue a formal warning to all organizations that could be potentially infected. This is the same program that compromised numerous machines at Target stores nationwide.

"Seven [point-of-sale] system providers/vendors have confirmed that they have had multiple clients affected," the advisory stated. "Reporting continues on additional compromised locations, involving private sector entities of all sizes, and the Secret Service currently estimates that over 1,000 U.S. businesses are affected."

Lock down customer data whenever possible
As The New York Times' Nicole Perlroth explained, hackers have mostly been using this exploit to target customer credit card information. By doing so, cybercriminals can have access to entire volumes of sensitive financial data. One of the major concerns surrounding this latest incident is the potential for businesses to continue operating unaware that they have been breached. The longer these issues go unchecked, the greater the likelihood is that customer data will fall into the hands of unauthorized users. Organizations of every size and scope need to be vigilant about updating their cybersecurity tools to take advantage of the most advanced solutions on the market.

When attempting to safeguard customer payment information, one of the most useful weapons in a company's arsenal is encryption. Even if a breach occurs, cybercriminals will have an extremely difficult time wringing any value from data that they can't properly access or read. There are encryption-based solutions geared toward both at-rest and in-transit data, so it's important that organizations implement tools that cover both areas. A security strategy that only accounts for information that is stored on a hard drive will leave a number of vulnerabilities in place. This is especially true or any company that conducts business over the Internet. 

Data thieves can intercept and breach digital payment transactions if they are not encrypted. Given how important e-commerce has become for the average company's bottom line, protecting online transmissions should be a priority. SSL certificates encrypt such sensitive and critical processes, effectively preventing cybercriminals from getting their hands on customer information. Even in the event that unauthorized users find their way inside a company's internal network, officials can rest easy knowing that any data transmitted digitally will be well protected.

Keep customer data secured with SSL encryption today.

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