Security Slideshow:
Data Breaches Rise, Thefts Fall: Verizon`s Data Breach Investigations Report

While the number of compromised records involved in data breaches dropped sharply in 2010, the number of breaches was the largest to date – 760 breaches – according to the “2011 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report.” The seeming disparity comes from a drop in large-scale breaches as cyber criminals instead focus on small, easy targets. Hacking and malware were the most prominent types of attacks, meaning CIOs still have to worry about the threats outside attacks pose to their enterprises. “This year, we witnessed highly automated and prolific external attacks, low and slow attacks, intricate internal fraud rings, countrywide device-tampering schemes, cunning social engineering plots and more. And yet, at the end of day, we found once again that the vast majority of breaches can be avoided without extremely difficult, expensive security measures,” said Peter Tippett, Verizon’s vice president of security and industry solutions. “A good offense remains the best defense. It is imperative to implement essential security measures broadly throughout your security infrastructure, whether that is a small home setup or an expansive enterprise infrastructure.” Verizon and the U.S. Secret Service collaborated on the report. Here are some of its key findings and recommendations to boost enterprise security.