Data breaches are up - what can you do now to protect your data?

CHICAGO, USA: The 2013 McGladrey Manufacturing & Distribution Monitor Report finds less than one in four executives feels that their information is at risk; yet manufacturing and distribution companies are a top hacker target.

Year 2012 saw a 24 percent increase in data breaches among manufacturers and distributors, and companies in the industry accounted for 12.2 percent of all data breaches investigated that year. Some executives feel their company is too small to be a target, but it is the data, not the size of the company, that attracts hackers. Do you still think your data is safe?

Managing information security risks, a white paper from McGladrey, discusses:

* Which companies hackers are targeting?

* What makes targets vulnerable?

* Who the hackers are and the methods they are using?

* What companies can do now to protect their data?

Hackers' tools are varied, but the Zeus Trojan horse provides a perfect example of why companies need to take data threats seriously. A threat to any company with a bank account, Zeus can use multiple methods to access businesses' systems. Once inside, it adapts to the environment of each victim, and can go undetected for months, even years. During this time, not only is data at risk, but the infection is spreading. Companies often address a Zeus infection in one area, only to have it pop up somewhere else. Eliminating it becomes a game of virtual whack-a-mole.

What can your company do today to manage your information risk? Today's hackers are sophisticated computer experts employed by corporations, organized crime, terrorist organizations and governments willing to invest significant resources to access data.

Your response has to be equally sophisticated. A high-level review of your internal and external network assets is a start, but a comprehensive information technology risk management program is the long-term answer.