Survey cites human error as biggest cause of data breaches.

• Position: CYBERSECURITY

External cybersecurity breaches get the headlines, but evidence points to human error as a greater cybersecurity threat for organizations of all sizes.

A data security incident response report released in May by BakerHostetler revealed that in the 200-plus cases its firm advised on in 2014, human error was the top cause of data security incidents. Employee negligence was responsible 36% of the time, while theft by outsiders was 22%, theft by insiders 16%, malware 16%, and phishing attacks 14%.

While the healthcare industry was affected most--largely due to strict data breach notification laws healthcare providers must follow --no industry is immune from threats to its sensitive information.

"It is important for companies to understand that data security is not just an issue for retailers, financial firms and hospitals. Incidents do not only occur at businesses that have payment card data or protected health information. Privacy and data security issues are firmly entrenched as a significant public and regulatory concern and a risk that executive leadership and boards of directors must confront," stated the report's authors.

Other findings noted in the report include:

* Not all security lapses involved the theft or hacking of electronic records; 21%...