Databases are valuable repositories of sensitive information, which undoubtedly makes them an attractive target for data theft. In order to avoid this type of attack, it is worth planning and implementing a database protection strategy containing elements that minimise various threat vectors. What database protection solutions can have the desired effects? We asked the specialists from dsstream.com.
How to secure and protect company databases?
Regardless of the size of your company and the industry, access to your personal data by unauthorised persons or its leakage can have huge and often irreversible effects.
According to the Risk Based Security’s 2020 Q3 report, between January and September 2020, about 36 billion records were compromised. The sector most attacked by hackers turned out to be health care. Information services and finance and insurance also recorded slightly fewer breaches.
What types of abuses must be faced by particular industries:
- Public administration – tax fraud (tax avoidance, tax underestimation, grey area, carousel fraud), excise goods smuggling;
- Health service – extortion of social benefits and unemployment benefits, health insurance, reimbursement of medicines and medical benefits
- Banking – credit fraud, identity theft and payment card data, phishing, malware;
- Insurance – extortion of compensation caused, for example, by a natural disaster, overestimation of cost estimates, extortion of compensation in motor insurance.
One of the currently most destructive types of cyberattacks is ransomware. It is a program belonging to the malware branch. This locks or encrypts the files on your
Device. Cybercriminals not only encrypt data, but also steal it to blackmail the victim, threatening to expose it if the ransom is not paid.
What can we draw from the report for our companies? None of the databases we store are 100% secure, so it is worth implementing appropriate steps to properly secure them.
How to effectively secure databases? Dynamically changing fraud trends encourage reflection and force complex actions such as hybrid analytics. The hybrid approach involves the simultaneous use of many analytical methods – both network analysis, business rules, as well as advanced predictive models and text mining technology.
Combining these elements in a variety of configurations makes it possible to significantly increase the effectiveness of the fraud prevention process. Such an approach provides comprehensive knowledge, facilitates investigative analysis and increases the effectiveness of the anti-abuse process.
How can criminals use the intercepted data?
The information that can be obtacained from databases is easy to monetise – a cybercriminal can sell it for cash or demand a ransom. However, when a dissatisfied employee is behind the capture, for example, he or she can make it public and cause problems related to the reputation of the organisation. Leakage of unsecured databases can therefore cause financial and image losses for the company.
According to a study conducted in the USA on a thousand large companies, about 70% of confidential information is leaked through the then-current employees[2]. What data about the company can become an attractive material for others? Company strategies, financial results, marketing campaigns, customer or partner data are the most frequently occurring information. Every year, the scale and variety of criminal activities grows at a very fast pace.
Summary
A holistic approach and the use of hybrid analytics with advanced network analysis are key to success in increasing the effectiveness and streamlining of fraud detection processes. Hybrid solutions using different types of analytical techniques ensure effective prevention of fraud and undesirable effects. Although the race between criminals and security services is still ongoing, without the involvement of advanced analytics and information technology, this fight will not be won.
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