PowerKee’s Bastion of Privacy #30 — Mercedes Benz joins the list of top companies whose customers have been exposed to cybersecurity risks
Mercedes Benz has become the latest A-list company to suffer a breach of their database. The incident, which affected a United States vendor of the luxury car manufacturing company, resulted in the release of sensitive data from at least 1,000 customers. According to reports, customers’ credit scores, drivers’ licenses, social security numbers, and credit card information were exposed to the public.
In the latest Bastion of Privacy, we highlight the growing rate of cybersecurity attacks and show customer concerns are naturally rising as a result. We explain the implications of sensitive data being exposed and the risk that such breaches impose on both the affected customers and the company.
Development
In addition to this week’s release, we are also sharing a video which showcases the PowerKee wallet. The PowerKee wallet is currently live on the mainnet and accessible to all PowerKee users. The video provides users with a walkthrough of the wallet solution. The walkthrough is led by one of our lead PowerKee developers. The release of the wallet remains pending as we’re on the final stage of fixing the masternode configuration and masternode control via the wallet. The rest of the wallet is fully functional.
Data breaches have become a frequent occurrence
The data breach on Mercedes Benz was not unique. It is only the latest among a series of breaches that have occurred across major tech platforms. Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn, Clubhouse, and Volkswagen all rank among the significant data breaches of 2021.
The Mercedes Benz breach was the result of an internal tech error. According to the affected vendor, it was the result of an improperly secured cloud storage configuration. Situations like this can raise some serious concerns, especially among customers. Sensitive details can be released, exposing customers to further attacks.
A study by the Tandon School of Engineering NYU highlights the rising concerns of the customers of such businesses. An index they use to measure the perceived risk of cybersecurity threats has been on the rise since June 2016.
(Source: wp.nyu.edu)
Companies are getting worried over cyber insecurity
The rising cybersecurity risks are impacting the confidence of several companies that carry out critical processes across the internet. According to reports, 78% of companies are not confident with their existing cybersecurity infrastructure. This is prompting many companies to increase their budgets in the search for more robust methods of ensuring security,
However, cybersecurity issues have become more complicated, especially since the breakout of COVID-19. With restrictions for physical interaction and travel possibilities, many companies have increased their online presence, further exposing their operations to digital attacks.
In recent years, there have been rising cases of cybersecurity attacks. According to reports, 88% of organizations worldwide experienced spear phishing attempts in 2019. In the first half of 2020 alone, roughly 36 billion records were exposed as a result of data breaches. This growing trend is generating significant concerns for both companies and users alike.
Increasing cybersecurity through blockchain technology
As companies strive to address such issues, they are becoming increasingly open to novel technologies. Technologies that eliminate the incentive associated with data theft offer an attractive system for mitigating the risk of such cybersecurity attacks. Blockchain networks are one such technology that significantly raise the costs for attackers, removing the incentives for their malicious activities.
Breaching data stored on blockchain technology is an expensive venture that is also very difficult to achieve. Even if it is achieved, it offers minimal rewards for such a costly endeavour. Combining this with the data being encrypted makes blockchain data management systems an attractive alternative to the incumbent data management practices employed by mainstream enterprises.
When it comes to value being stored and transferred in data management systems, privacy-focused blockchains are extremely attractive. Solutions like PowerKee ensure that user data is rigorously protected against breaches and security lapses. Using the native KEE token, the PowerKee network allows users to cheaply transfer and store value while maintaining anonymity.
About PowerKee
PowerKee is a cryptocurrency network that makes privacy easy. Users can transact cheaply and instantly while maintaining anonymity. The PowerKee protocol uses a mixture of zero-knowledge proofs and coin mixing to provide strong privacy assurances to its users.
