Future Hosting Urges Database Users To Follow Security Best Practices
Future Hosting, a managed server hosting provider, today spoke out about the risks that businesses take when they fail to protect databases containing sensitive customer data.
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., April 30, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Future Hosting, a managed server hosting provider, today spoke out about the risks that businesses take when they fail to protect databases containing sensitive customer data. Future Hosting's statement comes in the wake of multiple incidents in which sensitive data was exposed in databases without basic security protections such as passwords.
This month, the medical and personal data of tens of thousands of vulnerable healthcare customers was exposed. It was stored on a database that could be accessed by anyone who knew of its existence. The database was not protected by any form of authentication. This type of data leak is increasingly common. In January, it was reported that hundreds of VOIP databases are accessible without authentication. In the same month, 51 GB of financial data was exposed.
"Modern databases — particularly NoSQL document databases — are often released with insecure default configurations to accelerate development and testing. During the development phase of a project, organizations want to get their software working as quickly as possible. Strict security gets in the way. But, however useful insecure defaults are during development, they are disastrous in production," said Maulesh Patel, VP of Operations of Future Hosting. "The database's developers expect users to modify the default configuration before deployment. Many do not, and we've seen the consequence: millions of database records exposed to the world."
Patel urges developers to familiarize themselves with the security documentation of the databases they use in production. It is easy for criminals to discover insecure databases on the internet. Shodan is a "search engine for internet-connected devices" that indexes insecure databases. If a business puts an unprotected server or database on the internet, it will be discovered. Databases such as ElasticSearch and Memcached provide extensive documentation that, if followed, allows businesses to store even the most sensitive data with minimal risk of exposure.
About Future Hosting, LLC
Founded in 2001, Future Hosting is a privately held leading Internet solutions provider specializing in managed hosting, including Dedicated Servers, Virtual Private Servers, and Hybrid Virtual Private Servers. The company has built a strong reputation for its high-quality service, innovative pricing models, and 3-hour Service Level Agreement. Future Hosting is based in Southfield, Michigan. For more information, visit http://www.futurehosting.com
SOURCE Future Hosting
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