Pointing The Digital Finger: Who's Really To Blame For Security Breaches?

Article by Debra Littlejohn Shinder

In the news this month: Sony Pictures settled a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of current and former employees in relation to the 2014 security breach that exposed their personal information. This was the case where a "hacktivist" group was suspected of infecting Sony's systems with malware in retaliation for releasing a satirical movie about Kim Jong-un.

Every week, there are reports of more security breaches at banks, stores, healthcare organizations and more. But who is to blame for this? 

The obvious answer is that it's the hackers and attackers who set out to gain unauthorized access to companies' (and individuals') computers and stored or transmitted data, and I don't think anyone would argue with the premise that they have primary responsibility. However, there is a longstanding and steadily increasing trend toward putting more and more of the liability on the companies that collect and store that data,