The month long breach of P.F. Chang’s, the 210 restaurant chain based in Arizona, continues to grow even while the investigation ramps-up. The company learned back in June from the Secret Service that they had been hacked. Since that time investigators believe that the incursion actually began before the November 2013 Target breach.

Unknown amounts of customers affected
Chang’s CEO, Rick Federico told Data Breach Today they don’t know how many customer credit card numbers were stolen but it was an experienced group of hackers who gained access.

“The security compromise was part of a highly sophisticated criminal operation that is being investigated by both the U.S. Secret Service and a team of third-party forensic experts,” Federico added that the company is upgrading security at all of its POS outlets and the upgrades are almost complete. That, however, hasn’t stopped a class-action lawsuit from being filed against them in the Chicago area.

What’s the lesson, here?
What can be learned from both the Target and Chang’s breaches for business owners and IT managers who don’t rely on POS purchases as their business model but still need to protect vital and personal information? Biometric security.  Developers of biometric software are coming up with new security advances every day. As technology evolves so does biometric technology.

Keeping the data center safe
One of the more important tasks of any company manager is making absolutely certain that personal and critical information is safe from outside and inside criminal elements. A recent article at UMSA Security outlined some tips for those executive and IT staffers considering biometrics. The usual security methods are addressed. security cameras, landscaping and tactile firewalls are all great support mechanisms but blocking unauthorized access to the data center is, really, the first line of defense. Fingerprint scanning is one biometric method to do just that.

Biometric access control
In order to adequately protect the data center security staff need to be able to have access control.The ability to restrict access to authorized personnel limits the possibility of someone coming in and wreaking havoc in the data center. The fingerprint scan is ideal in this situation.

For a business to deploy fingerprint technology they first must scan an authorized employee’s fingerprints into a secured database. The fingerprint is then read by sections and matched to the worker. From that point every time a worker accesses the data center it is through a fingerprint reader which matches the print to the employee and allows access. This prevents a multitude of problems by allowing only the authorized person into the facility.

A Tech Target report, recently, offered ideas to company executives on how to deal with an event no one saw coming. Clive Longbottom of Quocirca, a U.K.-based research and analysis company, said planning is the key.

“The first rule is to … plan for as much as possible. Create business continuity and recovery plans that match with the business’ priorities — and then test them.”

Making sure the staff has been fully-trained and is knowledgeable about biometric technology and how it is deployed makes protecting vital infrastructure a bit less daunting for security personnel.  It also helps company management to make certain they are not losing data and protected information to those who would use that information for nefarious purposes.

While national companies continue to see breaches through predominantly cyber attacks savvy business managers are making the move to biometric technology to lock down server cabinets and data centers. By utilizing cutting-edge biometrics, companies can protect themselves from huge data losses that may have a heavy impact on the bottom line. Investigations cost money and time and fines for inadequate compliance are steep.

Companies taking the plunge and embracing biometrics now could go a long way towards making their business safe and more viable to operate in the long-term.

For information on preventing data breaches and achieving uniform access control, download our whitepaper here