It has not taken long for the cybercrime arena to become a bit too much to handle for the average organization, regardless of its size classification, industry or sector. Some of the more recent reports and studies have indicated that cybercrime is causing hundreds of billions of dollars in damages around the globe each year, and others forecast this figure to reach the $1 trillion milestone within the near future. 

In the wake of such massive breaches, there has been quite a bit of finger pointing, with some businesses blaming the government for not offering enough guidance, public sector officials calling upon companies to get their acts together and so on. Hackers are evolving so quickly that these types of circular conversations have become toxic, holding organizations back from having more stringent and effective identity and access management protocols in place. 

The big question is, though, can those who are tasked with protecting information actually get the job done, or is data breach simply going to happen one way or the other?

Imminent threat?
The Sentinel recently reported that several studies have found that the convergence of cybercrime and identity theft is moving along too quickly to keep up, and that these attacks are now more damaging than virtually all other types of crime combined. According to the news provider, one study from the Bureau of Justice Statistics in the United States revealed that the nation saw 16.6 million of its citizens impacted by identity theft in 2012, causing $24.7 billion in damages. 

More recent studies from analysts and researchers have put that figure much higher in the United States, with one stating that $100 billion were lost to cybercrime in 2013 and more will be gone this year. The source explained that some experts and intellectuals are beginning to think that data breach is simply going to happen regardless of what efforts are made to protect information and access. 

Citing the comments of Harrisburg University of Science and Technology professor Chuck Davis, who specializes in ethical hacking and computer forensics, The Sentinel affirmed that malware is likely the biggest, most unavoidable threat facing security professionals today. 

As mentioned above, the news provider noted that many companies have resorted to blaming others for the breaches that have struck their systems, and this is simply not helping matters move along in the right direction in the slightest. 

No more white flags
Organizations that manage sensitive data cannot simply take a backseat and think that, no matter what they do, their information will inevitably be exposed and compromised from a breach. Rather, more proactive and comprehensive approaches to identity and access management can significantly reduce the level of risk a company faces at any given time. 

Dynamic authentication tools that streamline the experience for users while better protecting the data they are accessing in the process should be viewed as the modern and ideal way to ensure that information does not fall into the wrong hands.