As more and more US states impose stricter data privacy rules, today’s firms become more and more concerned about the financial penalties and reputational damage a data breach can precipitate. But instead of going all in on technological solutions, some security agencies say some more focus is needed on properly training and monitoring staff about data hygiene best practices.
Here is an excerpt from a report on data breaches by HelpNet Security:
When assessing additional causes of data breaches, the report found that nearly half of all C-Suites (47%) and one in three SBOs (31%) say human error or accidental loss by an employee/insider was the cause.
What’s more, one in five C-Suites (21%) and nearly one in three SBOs (28%) admit deliberate theft or sabotage by an employee/insider was the cause of the data breach, compared to two in five C-Suites (43%) and one in three SBOs (31%) who say deliberate theft or sabotage by an external vendor/source caused their organization to suffer a data breach.
“For the second consecutive year, employee negligence and collaboration with external vendors continues to threaten the information security of U.S. businesses,” said Ann Nickolas, Senior Vice President, Stericycle, the provider of Shred-it information security solutions.
“New to this year however, is that the report revealed how deliberate sabotage by both employees and external partners are very real risks organizations face today. The consequences of a data breach are extensive and are not limited to legal, financial and reputational damage. As the report showed, data breaches can affect employee retention too.”
While the result of a data breach can have a variety of consequences on U.S. businesses, one of the most important factors is that a breach has an immediate effect on employee trust in an organization. In fact, one-third (33%) of the U.S. workforce say they would likely look for a new job if their employer suffered a breach of customer (31%) or employee data (35%).
What’s more, while nearly half of all consumers (47%) would wait to see how a business reacts to a data breach they’ve suffered before making up their mind about what to do, nearly one in four consumers (23%) would stop doing business with the company and nearly one-third (31%) would tell others about the breach, the Shred-it’s Ninth Annual Data Protection Report reveals.
