It’s understandable why one gets a kind of sinking feeling in the pit of the stomach each time a news story airs about another breach in data security. Regardless of how many firewalls you may have, no matter how thoroughly you believe your data may be encrypted, it’s hard not to question, “Have I done enough?”
Well, prepare yourself for that sinking feeling.
US attorneys general have announced a multi-state investigation of a unit of Experian, the credit reporting agency. The breach under investigation involves the criminal access of some 200 million Social Security numbers.
The trail begins with Vietnamese national Hieu Minh Ngo. He pleaded guilty in federal court to operating an underground website. The website offered clientele personal data on Americans, including their Social Security numbers. Apparently, he obtained most of these through the next step on the trail, a company known as Court Ventures.
Now, if the trail had stopped here, before March 2012, the headlines would be reading “Data Breach at Court Ventures”. However, it did not stop there, and those are not the headlines. In March of 2012 Experian bought the data firm. In light of Ngo’s revealing testimony, therefore, multiple states are jumping into an investigation of a data breach at, what is now, Experian’s problem.
You’ve got it, don’t you? That sinking feeling right in the middle of your abdomen?
There is something else that you can do to protect your data, to prevent your company from being in those headlines. Ensure appropriate destruction of retired or decommissioned hardware, especially by a process that meets NSA specifications.
Phiston Technologies
We provide a wide range of reliable as well as effective data destruction devices. With solutions including the MediaVise line, the MediaDice, and the V-Spike SSD Destroyer, they can help to ensure that you don’t get that sinking feeling from stories of breached data security any longer.
Contact us today for more information on ensuring the safety and integrity of your data.
