Data breaches happen all the time—and frankly, given how lackadaisical identity checks are on a majority of websites, it’s a minor miracle they don’t occur even more often.
With security question classics like “Where did you go to high school?” and “What’s your mother’s maiden name?”, the answers to which can be uncovered in just a few minutes of cursory googling, you can see why fraudsters would have no problem breezing right on through to steal usernames and passwords.
Your personal information might as well be plastered on an interstate billboard under the words “Steal me, I insist.”
To keep your company far, far away from financial and reputational damage, it’s imperative that you implement a robust, AI-powered IDV solution to protect your customers’ data. Because you really, really don’t want to end up on this list:
- MOVEit, June: The hack of file transfer tool MOVEit has impacted more than 200 organizations and up to 17.5 million individuals. Multiple federal agencies were among those affected, including the Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and Department of Health and Human Services. It’s believed the majority of schools across the US have also been targeted by the hack. MOVEit better be prepared to transfer some major cash in the form of civil damages.
- T-Mobile, January and May: T-Mobile has suffered two—count ’em, two—data breaches in 2023, affecting a combined total of over 47 million customers. The first breach occurred in January and exposed names, addresses, phone numbers, and account numbers. The second breach occurred in May and exposed Social Security numbers, dates of birth, and driver’s license numbers. Talk about a double whammy.
- Shields Health Care Group, April: A data breach at the Massachusetts-based medical services provider exposed the personal information of over 2.3 million people. The stolen data included names, addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and medical records. I’d personally prefer for my gastrointestinal issues to remain between me and my doctor.
- Yum! Brands, April: The parent company of KFC, Taco Bell, and Pizza Hut disclosed that a data breach had exposed the personal information of more than 147,000 customers. The stolen data included names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. Seems like Yum! Brands should have had more of an appetite for data security.
- Petro-Canada, March: Petro-Canada revealed that a data breach had exposed the personal information of over 95,000 customers. The stolen data included names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. It appears that this gas giant’s information security operation was, shall we say, running on fumes.
About the post:
Images are generative AI-created. Prompt: Humorous chaotic panicking in a security center. Tool: Midjourney.
About the author:
Shane Tepper writes about emerging trends in the world of technology with particular focus on generative AI and identity verification. With nearly 15 years of experience in media production, advertising, and the tech industry, he leads content marketing for IDVerse. Tepper is currently based in Atlanta.
