The year about to end has been ugly for many infosec pros, with embarrassing breaches and record amounts of personal data exposed.

In a look back at both big and small breaches IBM found bad and good news: Many, if not most of the security incidents to which its emergency response teams responded involve fundamental breakdowns in sound security practices “and are wholly preventable.”

The good news, IBM says, is that if organizations can take stronger responsibility and make a few small changes they’ll see a big impact for the long term.

First the trends:

• Rise of Ransomware: This was the most commonly encountered infection. In fact, the FBI reported Cryptowall ransomware attacks have netted hackers more than US$18 million from 2014-2015. IBM researchers believe that it will remain a common threat and profitable business into 2016, migrating to mobile devices as well.

• Biggest Threat May Be Inside: This is a continuation of a trend seen in 2014 when IBM Sponsor: Acquia
  Can we save the open web?
  Join the creator of Drupal, Dries Buytaert, in a discussion about the web’s evolution, how we can put the power of the internet back into the hands of the people, and how you can prepare your organization.
  Register Now