Effects of COVID: Data Breaches Grew With the Pandemic

When the Covid-19 pandemic first made waves on the national news, the whole world had to sit up and take notice because of how serious the issue was. Since then, there have been some improvements. For instance, according to early March 2021 statistics, the United States has vaccinated 15.3% of its population against the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic is still making the national news for an entirely different reason that has left many business organizations devastated. That's because the effects of the pandemic now include data breaches that have resulted in losses worth billions of dollars.

What's The Main Reason Behind the Surge in Data Breaches

Researchers estimate that data breaches exposed over 4 billion records in the first half of 2019 alone. The high rate of data breaches has cost surveyed companies millions per incident, and the cost is so steep because the business world had no way of preparing for the sudden and drastic security and IT demands that came with operational shifts and remote working.

For instance, more and more businesses were forced to rely on digital interactions when dealing with customers, and they also had to implement cloud migration projects to facilitate remote working. Once the data breaches started piling in, most organizations failed to respond in a timely manner to the threats, which exacerbated their financial losses. What's more, as most businesses focused on surviving the pandemic, some did not have enough resources to immediately adapt to the new normal, technology-wise.

A Look At Some of the Industries Affected By Covid-19 Data Breaches

Going by industry, the healthcare industry incurred the heaviest losses as a result of data breaches during the Covid-19 pandemic. The financial sector and the pharmaceutical industry were next in line. However, the damage did not stop there. Many other industries were affected, including the retail, media, hospitality, and public sector. When you look at the cost of data breaches in each industry before and after the Covid-19 pandemic, the large increase in costs is hard to ignore.

The cost of data breaches in each industry can be traced back to compromised user credentials. Organizations were heavily hit as user credentials were stolen and customer personal data exposed. The reason compromised credentials were so devastating is that it meant the organization's data had been compromised. With such crucial data in the hands of attackers, affected businesses could end up even more vulnerable to future breaches.

By way of example, if you consider the fact that about 58 million people have an annual gym or health club membership and it's not hard to see why compromised credentials have the potential to bring the fitness industry to its knees.

How Some Organizations Are Protecting Against Future Data Breaches

It's safe to say that just as the Covid-19 pandemic has stuck around for a while, the threat of data breaches will keep hanging over the heads of businesses that don't take appropriate action. Compromised credentials will continue to be a growing risk that urgently needs to be addressed. The problem with compromised user credentials is that it's one of the most difficult data breaches to detect, so businesses are encouraged to invest heavily in preventative measures.

In light of the recent wave of data breaches, vulnerable business organizations are looking to swiftly adapt their technology approach to safeguarding against future losses. Given that remote working is the new norm, these businesses have beefed up their security measures and intensified their cloud-based activities.

In a nutshell, modern technology approaches, such as AI, security analytics, automation, and encryption, have been a lifeline to businesses that have a vested interest in protecting the integrity of their data. Additionally, these tools work best when paired with a zero-trust and hybrid cloud approach. The overall result is lower data breach costs for organizations moving forward - a positive trend worth celebrating ever since the Covid-19 became national news.