The most recent high profile example occurred at The TJX Companies.

The organization's payment system was illegally accessed disclosing details on millions of the company's customers in the US and Europe.

"When it comes right down to it, very few companies have effective controls to monitor internal systems closely and follow the movement of data" on their networks, according to Alex Bakman, CEO of Ecora Software.

"The underlying problem is that companies are treating security as a 'nice to have' as opposed to a 'must have,'" Bakman said.

"TJX is just the tip of the iceberg. I think we are going to see many more" such disclosures, he added. "It's going to get a lot uglier before it gets any better."