Federal authorities are working with PAL Airlines to identify the exact cause and scope of a data breach that provided hackers with access to customers’ sensitive information. After a single employee email account was successfully hacked, the airline is now left with contacting their customers to ensure they take next steps in protecting themselves after their negligent cyber security measures failed to safeguard personal data.
Personal credentials with such sensitive data can fetch high profits on the dark web making this kind of breach attractive to cyber criminals. Organizations should be looking toward providing more advanced security measures to safeguard personal information as well implementing a higher standard for detection and response.
Whether through the customer’s eyes or through regulatory bodies, companies that are not close to compliant and open themselves to risk exposure are left with high prices to pay and reputational repercussion that few smaller/midsize companies are able to recover from, further highlighting the need for SMBs to heighten their multi-layered security measures.