In today’s world, data breaches are increasing, with an estimation of a data breach frequency of 1 every 39 seconds. It follows that 43 percent of these breaches target small to medium businesses.
Many professionals do not realise that just by working in certain vulnerable industries, their personal data—emails, passwords, financial details—can be compromised overnight.
Kurt Nielson, CEO of Partisia, has explained to Digital Journal his insights on how working in five different industries could put employees’ and clients’ sensitive information at significant risk.
Data Breach Every 39 Seconds: 5 Industries Most at Risk
Some industries are more vulnerable to cyber threats hence facing a high risk of experiencing data breaches or other types of cyberattacks in the future, including digital criminal activities, such as ransomware and insider threat attacks.
These industries are:
Manufacturing
The IBM Security’s 2024 Threat Intelligence Index revealed that manufacturing is among the most targeted industries by cyber attackers & the predominant attack methods included malware and ransomware.
According to Nielson: “A famous example which took place was in February, 2023 when Applied Materials – an American multinational corporation with market capitalization of over multi-billion dollars suffered ransomware attack on one of its suppliers. It was predicted that this infraction could cost the company up to $250 million.”
Finance and Insurance
The financial and insurance organizations are the most frequently attacked because of the nature of the data they process.
Nielson adds: “Another common attack used by hackers is the web application attacks since millions of clients apply such apps. Internal threats are also increasing and according to the Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigation report 34% breaches in this sector involved insiders.”
Furthermore, Nielson explains: “Between 2018 to 2023 the threats from external sources have reduced marginally while threats from internal sources have increased. As for the cost of a breach in this industry they are among the highest with finance and insurance placing second in terms of cost of a breach.”
Healthcare
The research concerns finding out that cybercriminals are targeting the healthcare industry more and more. At the same time as enforcing the connecting of more and more medical devices as well as employing the utilization of Electronic Health Records, healthcare data is a top commodity for the black market.
Nielson notes: “When we tried to gather information about the growth rate of the healthcare cybersecurity market across the world, we came to know through markets and markets that the market will reach up to $35. The US jeopardizes patient privacy where it is estimated that one million patients’ records are exposed every single day and will be 3 billion by 2028.”
Government Agencies
The one sector that is most vulnerable to hackers is the governmental institutions, so rich in classified data.
Here Nielson observes: “Seventy-nine ransomware assaults on U. S. government entities occurred in 2020, costing $18. Eight billion US dollars in lost revenues due to recovery costs and replacements. Even more shocking, only 38% of state and local government workers received training on how to mitigate ransomware risks; meaning this sector is very exposed to cyber criminals.”
Energy and Utility Companies
Energy and utility companies provide important public services that are essential to the operation of a country’s infrastructure making them an obvious target to hackers.
Nielson considers: “The recent attack that targeted the Colonial Pipeline in 2021, which halted fuel deliveries to the entire U.S. East Coast is a pretty good example of weaknesses present in this sector. Though FireEye has stated that the overall threats of cyber-attacks have scaled down over the recent past, energy firms are yet to be relieved of cyber threats since they are deemed to be of strategic importance to most nations.”
Emerging technologies could offer a solution by shifting the way data is managed and protected.
Nielson highlights this shift: “I believe this technology has the potential to transform how data is handled in industries most vulnerable to breaches. Instead of relying on the traditional model of centralizing and storing vast amounts of sensitive data, which puts employees and customers at risk, we can shift towards decentralized solutions that prioritize privacy. This approach allows businesses to use data more effectively without exposing it to the same security risks, offering a safer alternative to the current data practices in high-risk sectors.”
