In the first quarter of 2020 alone, more than 18 billion records were exposed across the globe due to data breaches. You probably heard of a few major breaches, including the Twitter hack that affected dozens of celebrities.
While data breaches don’t seem all that uncommon these days, one state is leading the way in this unfortunate trend. California has the most data breaches of any state in the country.
According to a new study, the Sunshine State has nearly twice as many data breaches as the next runner up. Since 2005, 19 million records have been lost in California alone.
So why is the home of Hollywood so susceptible to these breaches?
The most obvious answer is that California is also home to some of the biggest tech giants in the country. Apple, Cisco Systems, Uber, Google, and Facebook all have bases in California and host large amounts of valuable data that is targeted by hackers.
Largest Number of Cyber Attacks
According to a compilation of data from PrivacyRights.org, the tech industry was hit with the largest number of attacks in California, while New York (the state with the second highest number of attacks) suffered the most attacks in financial industries. Other common industries that were targeted included healthcare and government agencies.
To fight the constant stream of attacks, in 2018 California created the California Consumer Privacy Act to help protect both consumers and businesses. This act offers users more control over their data by limiting how tech companies like Facebook, Google, and Amazon collect it. The act also serves to let users know what data has already been collected about them and how that data is being used.
What makes this act so important is that when users have more control over their own data and how it’s being used, they can limit what different companies can see. So, if those companies experience a data breach, users may not have to worry as much about their personal or financial information becoming compromised.
What Can California Companies Do to Protect Themselves?
As technology continues to advance and hackers become even more adept at stealing vital data, companies in California need to take exemplary precautions to keep themselves (and their users) safe.
One of the best and easiest ways to do that is to work with a Ventura IT company. The right IT company will provide top-quality security services and keep your network monitored around the clock. If any data breaches do occur, an IT company can take care of them quickly. But, the biggest benefit of working with IT professionals is that it gives your company the chance to be proactive. You will be more likely to prevent a breach rather than having to figure out what to do after one has already occurred.
California continues to be the home of some of the world’s largest tech companies, but that doesn’t mean that they need to continue suffering the most data breaches. With the right protection, even the most targeted industries can proactively prevent breaches.