Breaches Predicted; Help is Coming
The CIO website is rife with predictions on coming cyber threats and data breaches for the coming year, laid out across several different articles. In one on Five Data Breach Predictions for 2017, they list, among the quintet of threats, a “focus on payment-based attacks despite the EMV shift taking place over a year ago.”
They note that “Experian predicts that uneven adoption of the technology, combined with attackers targeting new industries and adapting their tactics, means payment attacks will plague companies in 2017….’Instead of targeting big-name retailers as we’ve seen in the past, attackers may turn their attention to smaller franchised stores and others with distributed infrastructure,” their report says. ‘Along with needing to manage more distributed infrastructure, these businesses are experiencing other barriers, such as the need for software updates to accept payments that are not available and the impact it can have on the checkout process.’”
In another article on Security Predictions for the New Year, they not only predict Ransomware attacks will go up but so will the “blame game” in breaches and hacks: “When we talk to our clients, one trend we’re seeing that is really horrifying is that they don’t even say ‘if’ an attack occurs anymore, they say ‘when.’ It’s like, at this point, they are just throwing up their hands and saying, ‘Well, I’m gonna get hit, how bad is it going to be?’ and that, to me, is just terrifying,” they say, quoting one security expert.
You, however, don’t have to throw your hands up.
SID is Coming to the Rescue
As we revealed last week — SID is coming! AVP Solutions will be adding new security features to our services, for a small additional monthly fee, which we’ll be calling “SmartIDentity for Business” or “SID4B” (or sometimes, just “SID.”)
This feature will be available to all AVP merchants who want it, and will provide, among many other things, Business Internet Credential Monitoring with email and SMS text alerts, and “real-time” Flash alerts for immediate and emerging cyber threats. You also protect your employees and their qualifying family members from identity theft, as well, and should an employee or qualifying family members become a victim or even suspect identity theft, a certified Recovery Advocate will manage the logistics of restoration, will take control, and resolve the issues on their behalf, no matter how long it takes. This is not a “do-it-yourself” kit!
Nor will you be left “doing it yourself” if your business is struck: Benefits include Services for up to two (2) Data Breach events per 12 month period (which CIO seems to think are now inevitable!), along with an initial assessment to determine compliance and notification requirements based on the circumstances of the event, and a recommended response plan including timeline and notice content.
Protection also includes Fully Managed Identity Fraud Research, Remediation and Recovery services for a group of up to 5,000 Affected Consumer per Data Breach event
SID4B is a new layer of protection that for many businesses would cost thousands of additional dollars, but beginning this spring, “SID” will be added to our own core services, for about the price of coffee and danish for three, each month.
Again, stay tuned to this space, and our newsletter, for more information. Or contact us now if you want to get a jumpstart.
Another prediction we can make for the new year: We’ll all be glad when SID arrives!
