BACKGROUND:
Volkswagen has revealed a data breach impacting over 3.3 million customers. On Friday, the automaker said that a compilation of data used for sales and marketing purposes between 2014 and 2019 was left unsecured and exposed online “at some point” between August 2019 and May 2021, although the exact timeline has not been established. An associate vendor has been identified as the source of the breach but the company has not been named. Audi and Volkswagen were alerted that “an unauthorized third party” may have accessed this information on March 10.
<p>When data leaks occur, it’s typically a sign of a lack of awareness within the IT environment. Leaving a server open without protection happens much more frequently than people expect and can easily result in the exploitation of customer data. Without comprehensive visibility into deployments, an update in policy or change in access options could leave a server exposed for an unknown amount of time. Security guardrails complete with real-time observability are essential for any company housing sensitive data. With proper governance, monitoring and controlling security status can be done in real time, ensuring any flaws are given immediate attention and no critical issues slip through the cracks.</p>