06 Feb 2009

Companies should 'take action' to tackle against security breaches

High-profile security breaches are a threat which businesses should take heed of, a source asserts.

A recent incident in Maryland involving the loss of sensitive customer data from the Provident Bank highlights the need for tighter security measures, the Baltimore Sun claims.

The event involved the hacking of the Heartland Payment Systems, a computer network linking banks in the state, which was the subject of malware attacks by cybercriminals.

Over 100 million transactions are processed by the system every month and it is still not known how many customers were affected, the newspaper reports.

The source comments: "The breach at Heartland is just one wave in a rising tide of data theft that suggests tough new federal controls are needed on how organisations handle the data they collect."

Henry Fabian, executive director for core marketing at specialist computer storage company Seagate, recently advised firms to use encryption technology to enhance data theft protection.