Anthem Cyber Attacks

February 6, 2015

Cyber Attacks and what they mean to us

Warsaw Computer Repair Anthem

With Anthem, one of the largest health insurers out there, getting attacked by cyber-crime, it is on the minds of everyone lately! This being said security specialists say that many like Anthem, are behind in protecting your sensitive information from explicit attacks!

Specialists say that this information was available because Athem did not take the necessary steps to protect the data on the servers and computers they have. We have seen more than just Anthem in the last few months being attacked by these “Cyber-Crimes” and them getting away with your personal information! This makes one think how hard is it really to protect your data?

With Anthem we see that they were able to gain access to over 80 million account records! The information they were able to obtain included birthdays, addresses, Social Security numbers, email and employment information, and even income data for customers and employees! One would think they could at least protect their own company’s employees and chief executive’s  information from being hacked!

The officials at Anthem are not entirely sure currently who is responsible for these attacks but many inside Athem’s security suspect it to be from the Chinese.  Whether military or government officials are responsible we are not sure yet. They believe the way they were able to get inside was from a malicious software program that then granted them access to an employee’s login.

Why is this important?

As many of these cyber-crime attacks have been happening over the last few months, W.A.C.D. is reminded of the responsible we have for the security of our clients. Technology companys need to make sure they are allocating enough resources and time to making sure their customers are as safe and secure as possible when it comes to dealing with other people’s data. This goes for inside IT company’s also. It is not unheard of to have an outside source who is trained in hacking and breaching software try to perform a hack or breach on your system. I am sure places like Anthem and Target have these happen at their corporate level but one must wonder when you hear all these reports.  Are IT people just getting lazy? Or is the bigger issue that IT evolves so quickly that we allocate much of our resources to the upcoming new thing instead of making sure we are secure as we go?

What can we learn from this?

Even the large companies have fallen behind on their security of personal information. Is it possible to keep all attackers out? No, it is not but here is a list of things that will at least help detour unwanted infiltration to happen without some work and knowledge behind the attackers.

  • A Good Secure Firewall with constant updated live security. (WatchGuard, Sonic Wall, or Barracuda)
  • A Paid form of Anti-Virus on the network, server, and on every computer associated with the company. (AVG, Trend Micro, Norton)
  • Common sense security training for employees and customers (i.e. do not open emails claiming to give you things)
  • Keeping separate database for personal information so during an attack that section can be shut down

In Conclusion

We see that with these new and ever so often attacks that it appears companys have forgotten that they store so much valuable data and do not stick enough resources to keep it secure. W.A.C.D. is always available to help you walk through any situation you might encounter. Whether that is questions or even installing your network security. Do not hesitate to ask for help!

 

 

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