EVS Blog

Despite knowing that the government and the private sector are continuous targets for data breaches, the momentum of the proposed bill, Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, has stalled. This comes four months after we blogged about the various cyber security bills that have been introduced into Congress. However, the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act has survived so far, which is a bill that creates incentives for companies to share details of their cyber attacks and data breaches.

Despite the awareness and notoriety of health care data breaches, such as Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield and Premera, breaches are consistently occurring. Most recently, UCLA Health and St. Francis Health were compromised in different ways. While a segment of the media is calling 2015 the year of the health care attacks, how does this year really compare to the past?

Big box retailers to luxury goods—data breaches happen frequently and to all types of companies. It can be a difficult transition from cash, which omits personally identifying information to credit and debit cards that store data. However, credit cards and debit cards can simplify and expedite payment transactions through mobile payment and digital wallet services, which has the potential to transition into peer-to-peer payments.

Neiman Marcus is known for its luxury goods, whether it is clothing, handbags, shoes and more; however, the retailer is proving that companies feel the lasting effects from a data breach long after it happens. The situation began in December 2013 when the high-end retailer found that some customers had fraudulent charges on their credit cards; therefore the company disclosed in January 2014 that the data breach affected 350,000 credit card holders.

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has released an in-depth analysis and the severity of two breaches that the department has had. Although we have briefly covered the OPM data breach, regarding the 4 million federal employees affected by the breach, there is new information, which portrays a much larger and widespread effect.