It seems like every single day we hear about another data breach. These events don’t seem to be isolated to small business, large business, healthcare, retail, or any other category. Everybody is a target these days.
The reason for this is because data = money. Yes… Data = money. Some data is worth more to hackers than others, though. According to Experian, this is how much hackers can make by selling your data to criminal recipients:
- SSN: $1
- Online payment services login info (e.g. PayPal): $20-$200
- Credit or debit card: $5-$110
- Loyalty accounts: $20
- Driver’s license: $20
- General non-financial institution logins: $1
- Subscription services: $1-$10
- Medical records: $1-$1000
- Diplomas: $100-$400
- Passports (US): $1,000-$2,000
So that’s, in a nutshell, why everybody’s getting hacked. In some cases, criminals make a full-time job out of seeking and selling data.
It’s not rocket science to protect yourself. The use of encryption, the implementation of “least privilege”, and multi-factor authentication are three things you can do today to fend off cyber criminals. Encryption means if the bad guys steal your data, it’s useless to them. Least privilege means if they do get in your network, they won’t be able to get too far. MFA means it’s almost impossible for them to take over any of your online accounts.