TECHNOLOGY
BOOSTING DATA SECURITY IN CONSTRUCTION
Construction firms must do more to protect their data in a digital world
WRITTEN BY : DOMINIC ELLIS
The challenges involving data protection were highlighted in a recent breach involving Hoffman , one of the largest general contractors headquartered in the Pacific Northwest .
On December 16 , Hoffman discovered that an unauthorized individual may have accessed information relating to its self-insured health plan between July 31-August 4 , 2020 . The breach covered employee names , addresses , dates of birth , Social Security numbers , and benefits information . The information was released publically on February 12 this year .
As part of the investigation , an independent computer forensic firm was engaged to help determine " what happened and whether any personal information had been accessed without authorization ".
Hoffman has no indication that any information was actually viewed by the unauthorized person , or that it has been misused , it said in a statement . However , out of caution , current and former employees , and their beneficiaries and dependents , were urged to review any statements that they receive from their healthcare providers or health insurer .
According to the Cost of a Data Breach Study | IBM , the average time to identify and contain a breach is 280 days . The US is the most expensive country , at $ 8.64 million , and the average breach costs $ 3.86 million , according to the report . It advises companies to align their security strategy to the business , protect digital assets , users and data , manage defences against growing threats and modernize security with an open , multicloud strategy .
It should come as no surprise that a report from Market Research Engine projects the Data Protection Market is expected to grow from $ 120 billion by 2023 and to exceed $ 194.11 billion by 2026 , growing at a CAGR of 15.9 %.
Cybersecurity is now firmly positioned as C-suite risk " and should be a regular topic of conversation at Board level ," according to AON . It highlights the following key threats :
• Ransomware – a malicious programme which locks access to company files and data until a ransom payment is made , after which time access may be restored .
• Payment interception – criminals are able to compromise the email account or credentials of an individual inside the organization to authorize a change to the bank account details for large payments
• Phishing – malicious emails designed to look like genuine emails which encourage employees to click – infecting their
76 April 2021