Dodging Data Breaches

Sony, Citibank, Michaels: All were hacked in the last three months by crooks looking to make hay with credit card numbers and other customer data. These are just the high-profile cases. Thousands of breaches are reported every year, many by small companies that have meager defenses and that can't afford the consequences, including stiff fines levied by Visa and MasterCard, remediation costs (contacting the cardholders and working with the issuing banks), equipment replacement costs and, of course, lawsuits. Here are four ways to head off disaster before it strikes.