By John C. Stevenson
High-profile cybersecurity breaches easily get top billing on the nightly news, but information and security specialists worry that small- to midsize businesses may not have the financial wherewithal or even the accurate information needed to mount a proper defense against cyber criminals.
One of the most startling cyber breaches occurred in 2013, when retail giant Target was hacked, exposing the sensitive information of more than 40 million people, including names, mailing and email addresses, telephone numbers and credit and debit card details. In addition to the cost of mitigating the breach, Target paid more than $18 million to settle legal claims against the business.
The way the Target hack worked is worrisome to security experts because the retailer’s systems were infiltrated not from the outside, but from inside the company’s cyber defenses.
“What happened (with Target) was their air conditioning vendor had connections inside of (Target’s) network and somebody managed to breach the security of the air conditioning vendor,” said Richard Brooks, Clemson University professor of electrical and computer engineering. “That’s part of the problem,…
