The frequency and depth of security breaches continue to increase. There are still a number of breaches fresh in our memory-Target, Home Depot, The UPS Store, and many others. After the breach, the inevitable announcement is made to the public. The cost of these is not only the financial but also a significant decrease in trust and rapport with the community in which each location resides.
A constant question that arises after a breach is “What took so long for them to announce this?” In the interim, the affected person’s information could have been sold to others. The companies are monitoring their systems for any suspicious activity, however the fraudsters are actively updating their skills and tools so their activities won’t be noticed. The company unfortunately may be using still a default password or not regularly patching the systems. Once the fraudsters are in, the logs may be altered and tracks covered.

The targets are not only the massive retail operators. SMB are also being targeted. They may not be able to steal large amounts of money, but with these entities the smaller amounts may be easier to steal. To protect the business assets, its future, and clients, cyber- and information security should be a constant goal on varying levels. InfoSec cannot be a once a year thought and placing a checkmark in the box.