Data Breaches Increase at an Alarming Rate in January 2015

Has Your Business Been Compromised?

Data breaches are increasing at higher rates than ever before. Not only are we being targeted more often, the number of records compromised in each breach is on the rise. When comparing year-to-year numbers, January reports show over a 20% increase in records compromised.

The number of data breaches in 2014 involving more than 100 million records increased by 100% when compared to 2013 statistics. The numbers are alarming, and the effects are being felt by small and large businesses around the world.

Recent research revealed over one billion data records were compromised in over 1,500 data breaches occurring in 2014. This is a 78% increase in compromised data records compared to 2013.

Identity thieves are the main culprit behind the attacks. The BLI states that 54% of all data breaches were identity theft related. Not only is identity theft responsible for over 50% of all breaches, it accounts for one third of the breaches ranked as Severe or Catastrophic in the BLI.

Even more alarming, over two-thirds of the 50 highest ranked breaches occurred in 2014.

Retail and financial services continue to be the prime targets for identity thieves and hackers. Over 55% of data records compromised in 2014 were in the retail sector, and the average amount of records compromised in data breaches within the financial sector increased tenfold.

So how do you ensure YOUR business isn’t the victim of a terrible data breach?

Turn to CTECH Consulting Group for a complete IT security solution you can depend on to protect your valuable data:

• Managed firewalls to prevent dangerous unauthorized access to your network
• Anti-malware protection to lock out viruses that leak data or hold your records hostage
• Continuous backups for all your data – keeping files recoverable when disaster strikes.

Stay tuned to our blog for the latest security news and trends!

Call (403) 457-1478 or email us at info@ctechgroup.net to protect YOUR {city} IT network from data breaches.

Written by Carl Fransen

posted on March 2, 2015

Carl Fransen

My passion is to make my mark on the world in a positive and lasting way. I want to set an example for my son that his father can compete with integrity in today’s world, be very successful, and leave the world a better place for him.

Combining my technical/business-based education with a long career steadily progressing up the corporate ladder, I decided to build a company that held true to my values. So, I founded and designed the next generation of IT support firm: CTECH Consulting Group Inc. We are a completely automated, cloud-based IT company designed to compete against any other IT firm without the overhead. We promote a lifestyle to all our staff where they can work anywhere, at any time, access any information on any device that is relevant to their job, and collaborate with anyone they want to.