Modern information systems are collecting huge volumes of data at a quick rate, sometimes without an operator even being aware that these machinations are occurring.

Research analyst firm Gartner recently released a study predicting that 90 percent of the world's organizations will have personal information that they either don't own or have control over stored on their IT systems by 2019. Much of this data could be owned by employees, contract workers, clients or patients. Gartner's researchers cautioned that the organization housing this information is likely to be held responsible for a failure to employ sufficient data security solutions.

"As the amount of personal information increases multifold, individuals and their personal data will increasingly become a security target," Gartner vice president Carsten Casper said. "And, yet in most scenarios the organization is still ultimately accountable for the personal data on its IT systems."

Omitting solid data security provisions can be a costly error for organizations, particularly those in the healthcare industry. Government regulations such as those outlined by HIPAA demand that medical facilities adhere to a certain standard of cybersecurity to effectively protect sensitive patient data. After evaluating the circumstances of a particular breach, government officials may hand down stiff financial penalties depending on how egregious the security oversight was.

Data security failures in healthcare

According to the CIO Journal, several California healthcare companies have been victims of data breaches in recent months. In multiple incidents occurring since the beginning of the year, thieves were able to access patient records that included information regarding medical conditions and treatments. Many of these incidents could have been averted if hospital personnel had instated data security best practices, such as encryption.

"But many of the cases showed providers failed to take basic precautions to protect patient data, like encrypting health information stored on hardware," the news source stated. "For example, in several cases patient records were stolen when healthcare workers left unencrypted laptops, containing patient data, in cars."

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Mainframe Data Encryption

This oversight is not limited to the healthcare sector, however. Organizations across different industries have reported lacking sufficient data security solutions. A recent study conducted by global consulting firm Protiviti, titled "2013 IT Security and Privacy Survey," found that one-third of respondents either did not have a data breach response plan in place or did not know if one existed. Furthermore, 32 percent admitted that their organizations did not have a comprehensive data encryption policy. Failing to provide strong data encryption software solutions can leave an organization open to compliance violations.

"Not having [data encryption] policies in place is an important consideration when a breach involves information covered by data privacy laws and can expose an organization to significant legal liability," the report stated.