3,205 total data compromises were reported in the US in 2023, a 72% increase from the then record-setting total just two years prior(1). While that number was slightly lower in 2024, the worldwide average cost per breach reached $4.88 million, an all-time high(2).
Needless to say, data breaches are an ever-growing issue that continues to trend upward in victims and damages. Luckily, there are organizations like Digital Forensics Corp that offer data breach services for both companies and individuals impacted by these attacks.
These cybersecurity professionals can help you discover the cause of the breach, limit the damages, and prevent similar incidents from happening in the future. However, you need to act quickly for the best chances at optimal recovery and minimal damages.
Understanding Data Breaches
A data breach occurs when security measures are circumvented to achieve unauthorized access to confidential information. This can be done in a multitude of ways, but some of the most common methods are as follows:
- Hacking: Perpetrators may use brute-force attacks to gain access to login credentials or exploit security vulnerabilities.
- Social Engineering: Sending a phishing email to an employee under the guise of a high-ranking executive may grant cybercriminals access to private information.
- Malware: Often with one of the previous two strategies, scammers may infect a data system with malicious software that allows them to access confidential material.
- Insider Attack: This occurs when the bad actor is, or is working with, an individual with permission to access the data that has been compromised.
- Human Error: Accidents happen in every realm of human activity and cybersecurity is no exception. Employees could mishandle or accidentally divulge private information.
Outside of the obvious jeopardization of security, data breaches are extremely costly to both the consumers and providers targeted in the attack. The organization whose data was breached receives reputational damage and potential financial losses in lawsuits and regulatory fines.
Consumers face the brunt of a data breach. In addition to initial financial and security loss, data breaches publicize private information to numerous cybercriminals. This information may be sold or posted to the internet, opening victims up to further cyberattacks such as email sextortion and online blackmail.
Financial, personal, and health-related data are often targeted in these attacks as this information is highly privileged and involved parties will go to great lengths to keep it that way. This leads to attacks such as ransomware being so lucrative for cybercriminals.
While these attacks may seem unavoidable, there are steps you can take to improve your cybersecurity. Working with experts like those at DFC will help you battle back against data burglars and beef up your defense systems to avoid future attacks.
Digital Forensics Corp.’s Data Breach Services
Digital Forensics Corp is ready to assist you in the case of a data breach by providing services to help you properly investigate the incident. Our years of experience in forensic data analysis has allowed us to develop methods to determine the source of the breach, the scope of its impact, and improvements you can make to limit similar attacks from occurring in the future.
Data Breach Investigation:
We begin our forensic data analysis by determining if a true breach has occurred and the potential damage it may cause. This is done by identifying every record in your database which may have been compromised by the attack and providing an extensive report covering the methods used to extract the data.
We will analyze your network activity logs to determine any unusual activity. In cases where malware is utilized, such as ransomware attacks, our experts have the capabilities to conduct malware analysis through metadata extraction, reverse engineering, and running malicious software in a controlled environment. This allows us to analyze the malware’s origin, capabilities, and intended function.
Incident Containment & Eradication
After establishing the cause and possible extent of the attack, DFC can help mitigate damages and impede the cybercriminals from continuing to steal data. We can stop any unauthorized flow of data in and out of your system to decrease the immediate impact of the breach. We will work in coordination with your IT team to investigate the initial instrument for infiltration.
Our malware analysis enables us to effectively discover and remove malicious software that may be compromising your system to secure your data and prevent further damage. Furthermore, we document everything throughout the removal process to provide you with a detailed report that shows when and how your systems were tampered with.
Data Recovery
Digital Forensics Corp. can also help you regain control of the data compromised in the breach. In the case of ransomware attacks, our experts have the capability to decrypt your locked data and return it from the hands of the cybercriminals.
We will also scan the internet, including data broker and dark web pages, to find the full extent of the data exposure. We are capable of removing this content and ensuring its deletion from back-up storage devices to secure the digital presence of data breach victims and protect against further attacks.
Security Assessment and Prevention
Our services don’t end after discovering the cause of the breach and eliminating the threat of further data theft. We will continue to provide monitoring and help you put systems in place to prevent similar attacks in the future.
Our team can provide regular security assessment to test the strength of your defense methods and locate any potential vulnerabilities. Cybersecurity is an ever-evolving field, so working with a team who can help you stay ahead of the curve will position you to keep your data and the data entrusted in your care safe.
The Importance of Breach Notification
Failure to properly identify and document the cause of a data breach and notify the affected parties in a timely manner can result in lawsuits and regulatory litigation. While there is variation in notification laws, it’s always important for companies to quickly alert consumers of any breaches involving medical, financial, and personally identifiable information.
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, any company that experiences a breach of any personal data belonging to citizens of the EU must report the incident to the authorities and all affected parties within 72 hours of its discovery(3).
In Australia, the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme requires any organizations under the Privacy Act 1988 to notify the Office of Australian Information Commissioner and any impacted individuals of breaches containing private information that could cause harm by becoming public.
California led the way for data breach regulation in the US, passing S.B. 1386 in 2002 which requires notification of such security comptonizations to consumers as well as the state Attorney General. This bill laid the groundwork for future legislation like California’s Consumer Privacy Act and its Privacy Rights Act amendment.
DFC can help you navigate the laws covering data breach notification and ensure you properly comply. Our experts will help you properly investigate and document the timeline of the breach and our in-house legal counsel can work with your team to ensure regulations are followed.
Why Choose Digital Forensic Corp. for Data Breach Response?
Whether you’re the consumer or provider, DFC offers services to help you recover from a data breach. Our team of experts is ready to help corporations discover the cause of a data breach and contain its reach. Additionally, we can assist impacted individuals in regaining control and recovering their data.
We can help both large entities and the people who use them develop cybersecurity systems that will help them avoid future attacks. We can detect vulnerabilities in your existing system and provide ongoing monitoring to keep your data safe.
If you’ve experienced or been impacted by a data breach, there is no time to waste. Reach out today to speak with one of our specialists to start securing your data.
Sources:
- ITRC Annual Data Breach Report – ITRC
- Cost of a data breach 2024 | IBM
- GDPR Summary – An overview of the General Data Protection Act
DISCLAIMER: THIS POST IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE ON ANY SUBJECT MATTER. DIGITAL FORENSICS CORP. IS NOT A LAWFIRM AND DOES NOT PROVIDE LEGAL ADVICE OR SERVICES. By viewing posts, the reader understands there is no attorney-client relationship, the post should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed professional attorney, and readers are urged to consult their own legal counsel on any specific legal questions concerning a specific situation.
