Microsoft, one of the world’s most venerable multinational technology companies, went through multiple data breaches in the past year. These attacks increased in frequency in the past years, when, at least since the pandemic, businesses became more powerless than ever, and hackers got better at breaking systems.
The company’s vulnerabilities led to many data leaks, affecting millions of users. According to one of their reports, it seems like 1.292 issues were recorded in 2022, which is the highest number of vulnerabilities in a span of ten years. This might show that the situation can worsen in the future, considering how dangerous data breaches have become.
Data breaches and leaks are more frequent than ever. Despite companies’ efforts, the situation doesn’t seem to improve as hackers and cyber attackers are sharpening their skills. So, can businesses protect their customers?
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Microsoft denies the first data breach of 2023
The data breach claims started around the second of July when a group of hackers called Anonymous Sudan stated they’d gotten into the company’s servers and stolen information from 20 million accounts of Microsoft’s customers. The organisation is famous for its DDoS attacks and has been playing with the company for a while when some of their attacks caused service disruptions and outages that Microsoft admitted.
The group gained access to information like accounts, emails and passwords, for which they’re asking for $50,000 from interested parties that would want to use the Microsoft database for competition purposes. Hackers provided a data sample that couldn’t be verified as proof of the breach.
Microsoft stated that after analysing the situation, the group’s data doesn’t seem genuine, and the claim isn’t legitimate. However, it’s still unclear if the investigation is ongoing or has already been completed, and the company hasn’t come up with a follow-up yet.
According to https://www.databreachclaims.org.uk/, a personal data breach includes the lawfully changing, losing or disclosing of information that can be anything from name, email or bank account details. In case of a data breach, customers can sue the company for compensation, but this might be more difficult to tackle in the instances of corporations like Microsoft. So how are customers protected from such occurrences?
Protection doesn’t assure customers of data leaking
Unfortunately, regardless of the efforts and resources to protect customers, the truth is that they can’t be 100% assured their data is in a safe place. This happens for many reasons, but most of the time, the technology hackers use, and their expertise is stronger and sneakier compared to companies’ protection tools.
Data breaches aren’t easy to handle after they occur, and the business can be affected so much that this event will forever stain its reputation. This is especially true if the company isn’t able to pay for all the claims.
But customers should take some precautions to minimise the chances of experiencing a data breach, such as the following:
- Using strong passwords and changing them frequently. It’s also advisable to use different passwords for multiple apps and platforms because if only one passcode is used everywhere, the chances of all accounts being compromised are rising;
- Activating multi-factor authentication where it’s available, but most apps and websites offer this solution. This step adds an extra layer of security that is efficient in case someone is trying to get into the account; this acts as a warning sign;
- Updating software and hardware from time to time to allow upgrades to go smoothly and add new security patches. Older computers or phones might be in more danger of being hacked since their security levels haven’t improved;
What’s the recovery process after a data breach?
There aren’t many solutions for customers to handle the aftermath of a data breach. Unfortunately, after credentials are stolen, the best thing is to make small changes to stabilise current accounts. The first step is to try and determine the details of the breach, such as assessing if the data has been stolen or accessed. That’s because leaked information might not be that bad, but stolen information poses much more danger to one’s account.
Following this step should be freezing credit accounts or any other financial products to prevent unwanted access to funds. This is a free and easy thing to do, and frozen accounts can be renewed so no one has further access to them.
Of course, getting in touch with financial institutions to receive guidance is best. While most of the time, organisations can’t reverse the consequences of the breach, they can at least offer a piece of information that can be beneficial for anyone in need. Finally, all passwords need to be changed as fast as possible to prevent other attacks.
How can companies strengthen their security measures?
There are many ways to tackle cyber security, according to the type of industry. That’s because small businesses are more exposed to such events than corporations, considering they lack a strong cyber security system due to insufficient funds.
This is why investing time and money is the surest way to ensure the business is protected and users’ information is kept in a good place. For instance, any company should have an IT department that is constantly wired to analyse servers and systems and can provide reports for further improvements. At the same time, a considerable part of an organisation’s budget should be invested in cybersecurity. This means getting the most reliable anti-virus products and upgrading software and hardware products when necessary. Resources should also be invested in employees’ training in cyber security because they are responsible for tackling information and disclosing company inside data.
Final considerations
As Microsoft seems to go through another data breach, the company denied all allegations on the customer data that has been leaked. Although investigations are ongoing, it seems this is not the first time the hackers are hitting the company’s systems. Unfortunately, if this proves to be true, millions of customers’ data have been stolen, which has happened more frequently since the pandemic.
This is a submitted article
