Information security analytics

Either Russia has experienced yet another huge leak of confidential information, or someone has devised an elaborate money-making “data sham”. Despite the uncertainty, the news has done nothing for the image of the country’s financial sector. Experts at InfoWatch believe that a high-ranking insider could well have been involved in the theft of the valuable database.

Unisys, Chevron, the US Department of Transportation, Williams-Sonoma and hospital firm HCA have all been affected by or reported data breaches in the last few days. Analysts at InfoWatch stress that data will continue to be compromised because businesses have not learnt from their mistakes.

The ill-fated US Department of Veterans Affairs has been hit by another data breach. This time a desktop computer with private data on 38,000 military veterans has gone missing. Experts at InfoWatch point out that it is the fourth leak from the agency in recent months and, it appears, the same kind of thefts are going to keep on occurring.

A laptop has been stolen from the car of a US Transport Department employee. The computer contained the personal details of 133,000 Florida residents. The agency says it cannot afford to pay for credit monitoring, which means all those affected face the threat of ID theft. According to analysts at InfoWatch, government agencies are now the most vulnerable to data breaches.

A laptop computer containing the personal data of 100 Union Pacific workers has been stolen and 1,500 people have been affected by a similar incident at a Toyota factory in the US. Experts at InfoWatch believe the theft of portable equipment containing valuable information has now reached epidemic proportions and companies will have to adapt quickly before the costs become unbearable.

A consultant at an insurance firm has been caught trying to sell the personal details of 112,000 clients over the Internet to an undercover US Secret Service agent. The insider now faces up to 45 years in prison and fines of up to $750,000. According to experts at InfoWatch, the case is a shining example of both the Secret Service’s work and the lack of protection against insiders in the workplace.

An insider stole a laptop containing military secrets from the US Navy before passing on the information to foreign governments. Experts at InfoWatch stress that the breach could easily have been averted by using something such as a public key infrastructure (PKI). A US naval serviceman has been held on espionage charges. The insider, who had access to a Navy laptop containing classified information, passed on military secrets to foreign governments, the Associated Press reports.

The database costs around $250 at local electronics markets. It contains the full passport data of all the inhabitants of the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk and the surrounding region. Law enforcers have said there is little they can do to punish those selling the data, but experts at InfoWatch say that is not the case…

A number of bills on data breaches have been sent to the US Congress for deliberation. In the future, one of them may well become a federal law, but if the current level of activity devoted to the issue is anything to go by, it could be some time from now.

The stolen laptops contained private client data and other confidential information. However, it was all encrypted meaning nobody faces the threat of identity theft. Experts at InfoWatch point out that such a simple and effective method of protecting data is still very rare.