Blog 9: Data Theft

A recent study done on Verizon Wireless reports that 58% of all data stolen in 2011 were done so by what are known as "Hacktavist" groups. The report state that defending against these groups is extremely difficult due to their random attack strategies. Of those the 174 million that had their data stolen, Verizon had cataloged 855 incidents in which the theft had occurred. An interview with Wade Baker, the director of research for Verizon, said, "Hacktivism has been around for a some time but it's mainly been website defacements. In 2011 it was more about going to steal a bunch of information from a company." The group "Anonymous" is being blamed for the data theft. It is believed that they did it as a form of political protest. Of all the data stolen, about 35% were from large companies. It would be later sold or used to commit another crime. Baker also stated that across the board detecting any breach in security was very poor. 


As stated in past blogs, internet security should be more focused on by companies and governments than it actually is. With the majority of all documents now stored electronically, it is only a matter of time before someone such as a "hacktavist" breaks in and steals it. Also the group "anonymous" has moved from being a simple political opposition to internet censorship, to one on the level of that of a lower level  terrorist group. Stealing information on large companies is one thing, but stealing it from the everyday cell phone user completely goes against their initial belief. The issue of having data stolen isn't something people should take lightly. Once someone has entered your "cloud" of online data, it is only a matter of time before they can find out everything about you. Companies like Verizon should realize this not as a simple misfortune, but as a major threat to their company and its customers. 

Data Theft