Each week the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) releases its Data Breach Report. This report contains, among other information, a running tally of the annual number of data breaches. In its most recent report, released on October 19th, the ITRC calculate that there have been 783 data breaches through the first nine and half months of 2016. That equates to 20 breaches a week! In total, over 29.5 million people have had their records put at risk for identity theft. Our industry, classified as Banking/Credit/Financial on the IRTC report, accounts for 4.2% of the breaches which put at risk over 26,000 records, or 684 records per week.
Although not all breaches end in identify theft and the resulting financial damage to the victim, the fact that our industry exposes almost 700 people per week to the risk of identity theft supports our industry’s push to improve data security. We at String fully support this push and consider the security of our customer’s data as our number one priority. It is one of the key reasons why we’ve spent the time and resources to obtain ISO 27001 certification and SSAE 16 Attestation. Though it’s our use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) that does the most to help us protect our customer’s data while affording us several additional benefits that we’ve shared below. But first, what’s a VPN? VPNs are one of the best ways to transfer data that contains Non-public Personal Information. As the name implies, a VPN is a private network that is built on top of a shared or public network, such as the internet, for the specific purpose of sharing or transferring secured and encrypted data from point-to-point or site-to-site. In effect, a VPN is a tunnel from one business to another business that is only accessible to and used by the two businesses. Why we like VPNs 1. Whether it is for personal or business use, security is the number one benefit of a VPN. All data transmitted and received through a VPN is encrypted and, as the owner, you get to choose the level of encryption. Furthermore, data is only routed through the VPN when one of its owners makes a connection. As such, a VPN is much less vulnerable to unauthorized access and the potential theft of data. They are a great tool to help you address the security concerns and regulations of our industry and the reason why we at String conduct over 90% of our business through VPNs. 2. VPNs can be set up quickly, and as we frequently do, can be built remotely. There are no standards on how a VPN should be set up so it is up to you to determine which authentication and security protocols are used. While this may be a daunting prospect to those who have never set up a VPN, rest assured that due to the popularity of VPNs there is an abundance of professionals, or even business partners, that can assist you in creating a VPN. For example, Strings’ IT team routinely sets up VPNs for our new customers. 3. VPNs are cost effective in that they can often be created using your existing servers. 4. VPNs provide a more stable and dependable connection than other networking alternatives. Since they do not rely on third-party networks, they are less susceptible to outages and when issues do occur, those issues can be more readily addressed. Case in point, our IT team is on-call 24/7 to troubleshoot and fix any issues that may arise with our VPNs. 5. VPNs are very easy for your employees to use. By following simple step-by-step instructions, they can quickly connect to a VPN and begin transferring secure, encrypted data with your business partner. While technology advances at a rapid rate and new and better networking technologies have improved the features of VPNs, much of the underlying technology has remained the same. This consistence, coupled with the popularity of VPNs, provides evidence to the effectiveness of VPNs as a secure communication tool.
14 Comments
2/22/2017 10:25:32 pm
This website and I conceive this internet site is really informative ! Keep on putting up!
Reply
3/7/2017 11:47:49 am
Many people decide to opt out of using real estate agencies when buying a home. Instead, they buy a fixer upper, but there's more to it than they would ever think.
Reply
3/7/2017 11:54:49 pm
The growth of economy in different countries is leading and bringing to the fore professions that are diverse and at the same time challenging. Find some great information about finding a real estate agency.
Reply
8/8/2017 02:25:14 am
Everyone knows that the latest economic bubble to burst had a lot to do with the real estate industry. And as a result, the entire real estate industry has taken a huge hit in terms of value, investor confidence, as well as in many other ways.
Reply
8/20/2017 12:57:49 pm
Fort Myers is known in offering a comfortable life both for tourists and residents as well. The town is also being promoted globally for its beauty and richness.
Reply
8/28/2017 11:11:26 pm
Reply
9/4/2017 11:37:15 pm
Istanbul is one of the most populous cities in the world, ranked as 5th, and the largest city in Europe. The population in Istanbul is 14 million and around a third of the population is in Asian side. It may seem crowded, and it is, but with proper and wisely planned management Istanbul has become one of the nicest cities in the world.
Reply
9/5/2017 02:10:12 am
You can fast track your experience in Commercial Real Estate Agency and tap into more listing opportunities in this property market. Here are some ideas to help you consolidate your business efforts as an agent in your local area.
Reply
10/4/2017 04:38:34 am
Reply
10/4/2017 11:54:04 am
Here are some tips to help commercial real estate agents establish and strengthen their cold calling processes to find more listings and clients. If you are looking to get more commissions this year in your sales career, now would be a good time to consider growing and practising your call contact models.
Reply
10/16/2017 10:24:46 pm
you have done a great job i hope you will do much batter in the future
Reply
11/23/2017 10:55:32 am
Dallas real estate agencies help in buying and selling residential and commercial property in Dallas and its suburban areas. Like real estate agencies elsewhere, they do not own or buy any property that they list. They work on commission for their clients. Within the broad buying and selling functions, the real estate agencies in Dallas help in relocation, moving, rentals, mortgages, and other realtor services like insurance. The range of options offered by Dallas real estate agents for residential property includes houses, apartments, condominiums, lakefront homes, and sometimes ranches, too. Dealings in commercial property are largely restricted to the business areas, and some of the newly developed and developing areas.
Reply
12/10/2017 06:26:16 am
One of the hardest parts of starting your own real estate agency is creating and building your client list. It is, however, one of the most important aspects of the process, too. There are a few key things to keep in mind when building your list that will help make sure it is successful for you.
Reply
2/5/2018 11:30:21 am
Working with a real estate agency to find a home is a common way for buyers to choose the best property for investment. Any agency will usually bend over backwards to make a sale. Finding a real estate agency more interested in selling you the 'perfect property' than 'any property' is difficult - there are a lot of things that separate a quality agency from the rest.
Reply
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
Rich Swerbinsky
TMC - Chief Operating Officer Archives
November 2019
Categories
|