How a Data Breach Will Affect Your Business

A data breach is one of the most hazardous incidents to happen to a business. When unauthorized individuals can read data that is out of their jurisdiction, threats of theft, leakage and severe consequences can wreak havoc on a business.

It can either happen via internal or external hackers targeting your soft data or worse, through stolen hardware!

Sensitive data stored in servers are the most prone to being extracted. Information regarding personal identification, financial information, health information, and IT security are most at risk.

Discrete information like financial data, bank records, employee records, customer data, credit card information, market forecasts and etc are also very susceptible to being stolen. Intellectual property is also at-risk – software, artwork or noncopyrighted work is also widely stolen.

A data breach could compromise the security of your customers – or worse, could remove it entirely. It takes a year’s worth of time to maintain a database, not to mention the cost invested in maintaining it. A data breach could cost you your hard work, and a leak of sensitive information could severely affect your business’s reputation.

A breach can waste valuable company time in getting the system secured and back up again. Studies show that 29% of businesses that are breached end up losing revenue up to 20% or more.

Not only that but companies have to reinvest money into their security system and make it more impenetrable – which doesn’t come cheap.

Various hackers end up publicizing the information they have stolen, or sell them to competitors in exchange for profit – which could cost you a good chunk of planning for future endeavors.

Another way they can compromise a business’s integrity is by making changes to a web page, and if you are an online-based company, a change of letters, algorithms and unwarranted content on your page could really affect your online presence.

A breach could run you in various legal issues. Whether it is due to the information that has been leaked or in fighting for your property rights back, a data breach can severely hamper your brand’s name by the legal issues you will be incurring.

Let’s not forget how AT&T was fined an enormous $25 million fine by the FCC because a breach disclosed sensitive information about innumerable accounts registered with them.

Global data breaches are at a high. After 2016, there has been an 86% rise, but at the same time, measures to ensure your security are also increasing.

Speak to your IT expert today and figure out what your security needs are and how you can better protect your business and your brand!