Consumers often don’t learn about data breaches until long after companies have found the source of the breach, taken steps to patch the leak and notify users after the fact. But a Chicago-based cybersecurity firm has created a tool that aims to alert users faster.
Keeper Security has launched BreachWatch, a feature within Keeper Security's app that alerts users when their information has appeared on the dark web, a marketplace where users can access websites and information not found using browsers like Firefox or Google Chrome. Once users are alerted about their stolen information, the app, which costs $19.99 annually, will guide them through updating their username and password credentials.
BreachWatch will notify users of stolen username and password information and walks users through a three-step process to change their password, a process which Keeper Security’s CEO and co-founder Darren Guccione estimates users can complete in two minutes. The company currently has 15 million users in more than 100 countries.
“Speed is the key. Because if you alert the user fast, they can take action immediately, rotate their password for that particular account, and protect themselves,” said Guccione. “If their credentials are sitting out there being resold on the dark web… [hackers] could have a field day with your life.”
BreachWatch is the latest feature in Keeper Security’s software suite. The company also has a password management app, Keeper Password Manager, and a secure messaging app, KeeperChat.
Earlier this year, the company introduced KeeperChat to businesses, because the company noticed a lack of secure messaging options for businesses that needed to comply with stricter privacy regulations such as HIPPA or FINRA, Guccione said. The company is working on rolling out new features like voice calls, voice-to-text transcription, video chat and screen sharing capabilities.
Though states have their own data breach disclosure regulations, there is no federal law for data breach notifications.
In December 2017, Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) presented the Data Security and Breach Notification Act, which would require a set of security procedures and national notices of data breaches, but the Senate hasn’t taken further action on the bill. The U.S. is behind the European Union in terms of data breach regulations, most notably the recent General Data Protection Regulation, Guccione said.
“That mandate changed the way that companies have to treat a customer’s information and interact with their customers digitally,” Guccione said, referring to GDPR. “I would anticipate that something similar is going to be coming in the United States. When exactly? I don’t know.”
