A growing concern among many companies that store clients’ private data digitally these days is how secure their security systems really are. With a growing number of news stories about cyberattacks and hacking, many companies are becoming concerned that their private information is as secure as their security systems claim it really is. Indeed, studies prove that companies are attacked almost 17,000 times a year and that a significant number of those atttacks wind up being successful and cause a major data breach in the company. Those kinds of numbers are certainly concerning. In 2013, a little over 40% of companies experienced a data breach of some kind.
Why So Many Data Breaches?
As our society tends to increasingly shift from paper to digital storage, there have been great advances in ways to communicate, share ideas, and store those ideas. Information loss is the most vulnerable during a security breach–responsible for over 50% of data breaches. However, it has also opened up a new door to cyberhackers and others who like the challenge of trying to breach a security system, just to see if they can. With things like video conferencing, cloud storage, etc., more and more information is being transmitted via the web and vulnerable. Although IT services for companies strive to make every company’s security systems as safe as possible, sometimes even the best network design can fail against a more technologically advanced opponent or have a loophole.
How Can My Company Prevent A Data Breach?
First and foremost, make sure you have the best firewall available for your company. This may mean different features for different companies, depending on what you specialize in. Also don’t be afraid to invest in quality IT people, who can be hard to come by. Competition is fierce, but they’re key to keeping your company safe. Make sure that your technology and software is also up to date–older devices and software can be more at risk to attacks. Consider encrypting especially sensitive information, especially if it’s on portable devices, such as laptops or tablets that could get lost or stolen.
What Happens After
If you should be unlucky enough to be the victim of a data breach, there are a few things that you’ll want to do immediately. You’ll want to alert everyone that could potentially be affected at once and warn them to freeze any payment methods or keep an eye on their identity, in case of identity theft. Be ready to offer credit monitoring services. Call a lawyer and IT people and make sure you’re taking steps to secure your information.
Be prepared for to also pay for the following: restoring your reputation and brand (about 29% of the cost), making up for lost productive time (21% of your costs), money lost (19% of costs) forensics that look intot the case (12%), additional technical support (10%) and compliance costs that are regulated (about 8%).
Although you may always hope that you’re not the victim of a data breach, you also want to be prepared for that likelihood, should it happen. However, make sure you invest in quality IT people, the most sophisticated and updated security system, and that you continue to monitor the system you have.
