As founder of Aurora Information Security & Risk, Matthew Ferrante provides coordinated solutions that leverage technology expertise and provide analytical solutions in areas from IT misconduct to executive threats. One area in which Matthew Ferrante has a strong base of knowledge is data breaches.
A recent Forbes article explored the reasons for a mismatch in security and device capabilities, emphasizing that the greater convenience and automation offered by today’s connected devices necessarily means giving up privacy. Software is by its nature complex and encompasses many layers, upgrades, and frameworks that are hidden from the end user. The bottom-line interest of companies, from a financial institution to Facebook, is to mask these complexities within extremely simple interfaces that anyone can easily use. This means that more effort is often exerted in developing and refining the user interface and user experience areas than the privacy and security spheres.
The end result is ever more frequent data breaches, as hackers take advantage of gaping holes in the systems of companies that hold significant troves of personal data, such as Equifax and Target. As even users who are not particularly technologically savvy become aware of the risk to their data, companies are investing in data breach programs and incident response plans.
Unfortunately, these are not always well formulated and can simply be cosmetic programs designed to pacify shareholders and consumers. This piecemeal approach is not a genuine solution, as dedicated hackers are continuously coming up with new strategies to try and infiltrate data-rich systems.
