How To Protect Your Business From Data Fraud

By October 2020, every American brick-and-mortar merchant will be required to use chip transactions. Failure to do so will result in the brand being liable for any fraud that results. Why is this? Chip cards reduce the rate of counterfeit payments received.

In 2019, 99% of American payments were processed on chip cards; and during this time, less than 5% of Americans were concerned about the security of their chip card. Furthermore, retailers who switched to chip readers between 2015 and 2018 saw a 76% decrease in counterfeit payments. Nationally speaking, counterfeit payments dropped by 49% across these same years. Still, chips cards can be hacked. Are you aware of how data theft can impact your business?

Scammers Want Your Data

Accident loss and device theft are among the two biggest physical threats to your data. In 2017, about 1 in 5 data security incidents involved device loss or theft. Here’s how it works: your mobile devices and office computers store your most important information, and scammers know this. Their goal is to steal your devices – but not for the device value. Instead, for the data inside of your devices.

Laptop theft costs businesses more than eight times more than simply replacing the device would. Interestingly , 25% of laptops in America are stolen from the office or a car, and 14% are lost in airplanes or airplanes. Be sure to keep an eye on your devices when traveling since only 25% of lost and stolen laptops are recovered.

Encryption is Key

Here’s an example. In 2006, a laptop and its accompanying external hard drive was stolen from the home of a Veterans Affairs employee. Stored with sensitive information such as passwords and account numbers, thieves gained access to the employee’s unencrypted private data – including 26.5 million names, social security numbers, and birthdates.

How does this happen? Shimming and shimming are traditional methods – using devices to steal credit and debit card information upon consumer swipe – but Juice Jacking is the newest threat to physical data security.

Using this method, criminals can load malware onto USB charging stations and cables left in public places. Doing so immediately locks your device, sending your passwords and other sensitive information to the scammer. With this information, scammers turn to the black market. A single stolen credit or debit card number sells for $5 on the dark web, but adding bank account information to the product immediately triple’s the stolen card’s value.

Facts aside, it is still possible to protect your business, and ultimately your clientele, from physical data theft. For more information on data security, check out the infographic below.

Source: Computer Science Degree Hub