The famous saying is that 'Information is Power.' And these words have stayed true over the years because, even in this internet age, organizations with access to the right data are most likely to rise to the peak of their industries.

In fact, the data brokering industry has become highly lucrative, with at least 2.5 quintillion bytes of data created every day (Forbes, 2018). However, the existence of this $200 billion industry might just be contributing greatly to the rise of data exfiltration.

What is Data Exfiltration?

Data exfiltration is the act of moving private data outside an organization (or from an individual’s system) without the appropriate authorization. It is also called data theft, data extrusion, and data exportation. Exfiltration is a deliberate act to steal.

The stolen data can be anything from employees' email addresses to more valuable data like credit card numbers. This data could then be sold to competitors or on the dark web, where it can be used in crime schemes or to destroy the company's reputation.

Data is valuable. So, data exfiltration happens in every industry, from manufacturing to e-commerce to the financial services industry, and any organization is liable to an attack.

How Does Data Exfiltration Happen?

A company’s data can fall into the wrong hands via several means. Essentially, it could be the work of malicious outsiders, unsuspecting employees or even disgruntled employees. Some of the strategies they use include;

·      Social engineering using data exfiltration malware

·      Sending sensitive information out of the organisation via emails (Insider threat)

·      Remote Access: an attacker could gain remote access to internal systems and copy out vital data from them.

·      Downloading sensitive information to external devices.

·      Insecure cloud practices

·      Human errors           

How to Prevent Data Exfiltration

According to this IBM report, data breaches have cost U.S companies around $9.05 million in 2021. This monetary cost is nothing compared to the untold damage that data exfiltration can have on a company's reputation. Therefore, organizations must do their best to prevent data exfiltration.

Some of the precautions that should be in place include;

·      Continuous information security and data handling awareness training for employees

·      The use of email protection software to flag and/or block data exfiltration attempts

·      Blocking or blacklisting the transmission of data through unidentified servers in attack-prone locations

·      Blocking USB access across the organization

·      Implementation of relevant other relevant tools for flagging and preventing data exfiltration (SIEM, Next-Gen Firewalls, etc.)

These techniques can help reduce the risk of data exfiltration for companies.

Conclusion

Data exfiltration is highly damaging to any organization. However, even the best companies can fall victim if the proper precautions are not employed. firms, therefore, must do all they can to protect themselves against data theft.