Data security

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Data Security
The risk of data loss or corruption is real for all individuals or business organizations that use computer systems. According to the 2016 study conducted by Ponemon Institute, small businesses are more susceptible to this risk mainly because they do not have the right security controls in place (O’Brien 16). The study posits that more than half of such organizations had experienced some form of data breach in the last twelve months. The following are some of the strategies that individuals or their organizations could use to prevent data loss or corruption;
Training employees
Securing sensitive information
Properly disposing of the confidential information
Protecting computer systems against malware
Encrypting data
Controlling physical access to the computers
Keeping operating systems and software updated
Verifying third-party security controls
The data breach of the credit bureau, Equifax is one of the largest data breaches ever experienced. The breach that occurred in 2017 put the data of more than 143 million users at risk (O’Brien 16). By March 2018, the number of users whose data had been put at risk by the breach had risen to approximately 148 million (O’Brien 16). It is reported that the hackers who conducted this breach had taken advantage of a vulnerability in open-source software that the company used (O’Brien 17). Specifically, this open-source software was Apache Struts CVE-2017-5638 (O’Brien 16).
The impact on the affected users was mainly the inability to control the use of their personal information that had been stolen from the company (O’Brien 17).

The company itself was, however, minimally affected and operated normally. This breach could have been prevented if the company applied the following strategies;
Using well-known security best practices
Performing routine security reviews
Implementing internal controls

Work Cited
O’Brien, S. A. “Giant Equifax data breach: 143 million people could be affected.” CNN Tech (2017): 16-17.