Style and Statistics

Chapter 8 Cybersecurity

Millions of Americans work hard each day to save money in order to give their children a good life. These individuals may be counting change and working late hours and multiple jobs and getting by on minimum wage. Imagine if these hardworking individuals logged into their bank accounts one day to see them completely empty. Every single penny completely gone with absolutely no idea what happened to it. Not being able to pay their rent that is due the next day and be able to keep a roof over their heads. Not having a dime to buy food to feed their children even though they worked so hard to save.

This scenario often is the outcome of a data breach. While all Americans are subject to data breaches, lower-income families may not have multiple accounts or the funds to hold them over until the bank can credit the stolen money back. Debit card and credit card information is often stolen and made available for criminals to completely wipe out people’s bank accounts. A cyberattack is when an entity’s computer systems are damaged or destroyed. Most often, large, well-established banks credit funds back within 24 hours when fraudulent activity occurs. However, smaller banks may take weeks to investigate and return the money; sometimes stolen funds are never returned to victims.

Since 2011, over 236 million confidential records containing personal data have been breached. These data breaches occur across industries, not only in retail. Among healthcare organizations, ...