The holy grail of Big Data lies in the ability of identifying the right set of data and thereupon properly using it for greater insights. Asking for such capabilities may have been difficult in the past years, but the recent flood of applications and softwares have made such tasks much easier (if not trivial). It is suffice to say that we are entering into an era where the power of predicting things seems to be within grasp.
Data Value
The moment we have a tangible use (such as predictability and decision insights) associated with the data, it becomes valuable; equally valuable to companies, individuals and the bad guys. Back in 2013, the most popular trend among hackers was to steal credit card information and to sell that info to third parties internationally. Now that trend is shifting towards stealing personal data. From PHI (personal health information) to things like emails, the possibilities are endless. Look no further than what happened to Sony in the recent breach.
Data Breaches
The sad part is that it will still take some time for us to take data security seriously. There is a risk of additional breaches, hacks and leaks in 2015 which will give the governments and companies the "push" they need to make data security reforms.
Looking back at some of the breaches in 2014 we can see a trend starting to appear. It will only get worse if nothing is done about the security.
Data Breaches in 2014
Onsite Health Diagnostics
When: January 2014
Number affected: 60 thousand
Data Type: patient names, DOB, addresses, emails, phone numbers and gender
Method used: Unknown party inappropriately accessed online scheduler system
Michaels Store Chain
When: January 2014
Number affected: 3 million
Data Type: customer debit and credit information
Method used: Payment system was breached by hackers
Los Angeles County Department of Health Services
When: February 2014
Number affected: 170 thousand
Data Type: patient names, SSN, DOB, billing information and medical history
Method used: Eight computers containing the data were stolen from the billing company (Sutherland Healthcare Solutions)
American Express
When: March 2014
Number affected: 76 thousand
Data Type: California customer names, accounts numbers, expiration dates and four-digit CVS codes
Method used: Hacktivist group The Anonymous
Living Social
When: April 2014
Number affected: 50 million
Data Type: Customer names, emails, DOB and encrypted passwords
Method used: Hackers attacked the website
Community Health Systems, Inc.
When: April 2014
Number affected: 4.5 million
Data Type: patient names, addresses, DOB and SSN
Method used: Chinese hackers were believed to be behind the attack
Aventura Hospital and Medical Center
When: September 2014
Number affected: 82 thousand
Data Type: patient name, DOB and SSN
Method used: Vendor's employee stole the data
Home Depot
When: September 2014
Number affected: 56 million
Data Type: customer credit card information
Method used: Malware was installed on payment systems by a hacker group
New Jersey Doctor (Dr. Nisar A. Quraishi)
When: October 2014
Number affected: 40 thousand
Data Type: patient names, SSN, DOB and medical history
Method used: Break-in at the storage facility
JP Morgan Chase
When: October 2014
Number affected: 76 million
Data Type: patient phone numbers, DOB, addresses and SSN
Method used: Hackers gained root access to the secure servers
Bottom Line
Our discovery of the powers that data holds is turning it into a tradable commodity. We are entering into a world where stealing data is as lucrative (if not more) as stealing credit card information. Hackers have successfully demonstrated they can compromise governments, companies and law enforcement agencies. The large number of data breaches that occurred in 2014 proves the aforementioned points and demands that we pay equal attention to the security of the data.
