The last thing that any business wants to have to do is to notify their customers and vendors that they were hacked and confidential information was stolen. As damaging as it would be to have to deal with this problem, there’s a worse scenario – having data stolen without knowing that it happened. These “invisible” hacks allow the thieves plenty of time to maximize the damage.
A study done by the Ponemon Institute revealed that at least 78% of organizations were victimized by a data breach at least once in a two year period. Outside hackers are not the only threat. Insiders also pose a risk, stealing both money and data. This type of crime can continue for a considerable period of time before being discovered. Unfortunately, these are not the only risks to the security of confidential data that an organization must be aware of and protect against.
The Top 6 Data Security Risks
Employee negligence: 77% of employees leave their computers accessible to others when not at their desks
Inadequate security: 65% of small and mid-sized businesses leave their confidential data vulnerable because of lack of encryption or the use of outdated technology
Lack of enforcement: 80% of organizations believe that restricting access to data is important, but far too many fail to enforce their own security policies or have inadequate safeguards
Mobile devices: 56% of employees store sensitive data on vulnerable mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets
Lack of backups: 62% of small and mid-sized businesses do not routinely back up their data to a secure, off-site location
No disaster recovery plan: 33% of all U.S. businesses do not have a disaster recovery plan, saying that they have neither the necessary budget or resources
The Potential Costs of Data Breaches
Any security breaches a company’s network can have tremendous repercussions, including:
The costs of data recovery or recreating data from scratch
Reimbursements to customers
Damage to a business’s reputation and brand
Loss of business – most consumers state that they will stop doing business with an organization if their personal information is stolen
Some organizations never recover from a data breach.
Digital Planet.Net is committed to ensuring that their clients receive maximum value from their technology investments. Network security is only one of the many services offered. When you need Outsourced IT in Waukesha, the experienced engineers from Digital Planet will protect your data and become your IT department.