Tuesday 11 April 2017

If You Want to Stop Big Data Breaches, Start With Databases

an article by Lily Hay Newman published in WIRED on 29 March 2017
Thanks to Research Buzz for the link

Over the past few years, large-scale data breaches have become so common that even tens of millions of records leaking feels unremarkable. One frequent culprit that gets buried beneath the headlines? Poorly secured databases that connect directly to the internet.

While companies commonly use these databases to store tempting troves of customer and financial data, they often do so with outdated and weak default security configurations. And while any type of database can be left open or unprotected, a string of breaches over the last few years have all centered around one type in particular: open-source “NoSQL” databases, particularly those using the popular MongoDB database program. Of course there are many types of hacks that can ultimately lead to data breaches, like using spear phishing to gain access to a network, but securing exposed databases is a relatively easy and concrete step organizations can take to strengthen their data defense.

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