Neiman Marcus Group Inc. has named Sarah Hendrickson as its first chief information security officer.

As the list of major U.S. retailers hit by credit card hackers continues to grow this year, Americans are more likely to worry about having credit card information they used in stores stolen by computer hackers than any other crime.

 Cyber breaches knows no boundaries and doesn’t discriminate based on business size. For example, a study by the National Cyber Security Alliance shows that even though 66 percent of the small businesses surveyed relied on the Internet on a daily basis and 69 percent handled sensitive data, only 23 percent had a written policy and procedure Internet security guide for their employees. Only 37 percent provided Internet safety training to their employees, and only 50 percent had a cybersecurity plan to keep their business secure. 

 In August, Community Health Systems announced that an external group of hackers attacked its computer network that an external group of hackers attacked its computer network and stole non-medical data of 4.5 million patients – the second-largest HIPAA breach ever reported.  

Those of the Millennial Generation (born between 1980 and early 2000s) have upped their game to keep private information safe, but while they show a keen interest in cybersecurity careers, they don’t know exactly what that entails.

In July 2014 alone, 940,000 people in the Professional and Business Services industry left their jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The question is: How much power and access do those people still have over company data? 

 Many organizations protect their cyber infrastructure by looking inward, focusing on their own networks and systems. They dedicate themselves to reducing the attack surface, assessing their vulnerabilities, and conducting system patching – all to continuously monitor their own networks.  

If you’re not convinced of the impact data breaches have on business success yet, be aware that 51 percent of consumers will take their business elsewhere after their retailer, bank or service provider suffers a breach that compromises personal information, including addresses, Social Security numbers and credit card details, according to a HyTrust Inc. poll. For retailers focusing on the powerful 35-44 age range demographic, that number jumps to 60.2 percent. 

 There is a common plot line that underlies most of the breach stories in the news. Software written by bad guys gets into places on the corporate network where it shouldn’t be. It looks around, finds vulnerable systems, grabs valuable data and transmits it off the network. The term most commonly used to describe this behavior is Advanced Persistent Threat (APT).   

 Cloud computing technology providers are rapidly improving the effectiveness and efficiency of network security, and what we are seeing is just the beginning. If your business is not already taking advantage of cloud-based security solutions, chances are high you will benefit from this emerging market soon.