Data Breach Research Papaer - 1455 Words

Secure or Breached? As technology is becoming more prevalent the manner in which we store information is changing. Gone are the days of information being stored into file cabinets. Instead information is stored in databases, a system of hard drives that stores information electronically normally accessible remotely. With this comes a rise in hackers and correspondingly a rise in security breaches, where hackers have access to sensitive information. Vulnerabilities are the root of all hacks. For businesses, they result in a decline in reliability. If an individual or a group wants to breach information, they will almost always find a way. With the increasing need for information databases, businesses have to weigh the risks of hacks. When†¦show more content†¦Identify theft is protected under the Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act but only discusses punishment of the violator. This is another law that does not clearly prohibit cybercrime. â€Å"It criminalizes identity theft and allo ws courts to assess the losses suffered by individual consumers† which does not specify the form in which identity theft must take place. Laws prohibiting and punishing cybercrimes are less effective when the root of the problem cannot be tracked. For as controversial as the topic is, there may not be laws in effect fully prohibiting cybercrimes to a full extent. Motives behind the hack Reasons behind a data breach are just as varied as the people who carry them out. Most hackers fall in one of three categories, white hat, black hat, and grey hat hackers. The white hat hacker is a person who hacks legally; no information is stolen or vulnerabilities exploited. Instead, white hat hackers are hired by companies to try and breach the security in place, they then inform said company of how they managed to bypass security masseurs in order to help patch exploits in the security. Then there is the black hat hackers, these hackers hack without permission for self-gain or for the challenge. They normally steal information like credit card numbers, social security numbers and addresses. Other times the will sell the nature of the exploit on the black market to the highest bidder. However, financial gain is not the only motivation