New Cybersecurity Breaches, New Reasons to Check Your Security Posture

A number of recent security breaches serve as a reminder that your cybersecurity posture should be a primary concern for your office, regardless of your business’ size or industry.

A medical group in California recently had the protected health information of nearly 200,000 patients exposed because of a computer virus. It’s a story that stresses the importance of not only having excellent software and hardware with the highest level of cybersecurity measures in place, but also a set of physical processes and procedures to avoid any third-parties from gaining access to patient information.

Of course, it’s not just the healthcare industry. Microsoft recently reported that a hacker had breached their security during the first quarter of 2019, stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency from users. Since cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin or Monero (or thousands of others) are a digital-based medium of exchange, and users of cryptocurrencies rely on this alternative to avoid banking systems or other centralized authorities to maintain its storage or ownership, instead relying on exchanges such as Kraken.com to conduction the transfer of digital monies, they’re an ideal target for hackers.

The reality is that at any given point you can check your news feed and find a dozen or more stories posted in the last several days about another security breach. There is the recent spyware attack on the WhatsApp or the hack into the cryptocurrency exchange Binance. These stories are everywhere, and it’s scary.

Hackers or cyber-criminals make it their business to adapt to the latest security software and hardware. Companies need to be aware of this, and hiring IT and security professionals to ensure you’re at the cutting edge of cybersecurity is a necessity. Anything less represents a weaker posture and leaves you at risk.

These breaches also raise questions about the security standards of your business’ vendors, such as a collection agency. Not only must your office concern itself with your own security setup, but you also need to consider how your partners protect your consumer data.

Before partnering up with any vendor or a third-party company, ensure they meet or exceed your security standards, especially if they have access to your company’s or your consumers’ data on their platforms. Most companies have a security or compliance page on their website that will tell you what you need to know about them.

Prevention is key to stopping security breaches from occurring, and the best way to prevent a breach is to take cyber threats seriously, while also ensure that your vendors and partners take them seriously too.

Learn more: What security safeguards should your collection partner have?