Do you know an average data security breach can be pulled off faster than preparing a cup of coffee? Over 93% of data breaches take place within just one minute. Yet, the businesses take a few days or weeks to realize the occurrence of the breach.
A business has to bear many costly consequences of a data breach. That’s why 85% of business executives consider cybersecurity threats very concerning – as it indicates weak data security.
Here are the five adverse consequences of the data breach on businesses. Keep reading to figure out why it is important to keep the data well protected.
Revenue Loss
As a result of a data security breach, a business suffers great revenue loss. According to studies, around 30% of businesses facing cyber-attack end up losing their revenue.
Significant revenue loss as a result of a security breach is common. Moreover, a non-functional website will make potential customers explore more options and subsequently, the business will face revenue loss.
Damage to Brand Reputation
Data security breach puts the long-term reputation of a brand at stake. No business wants their work emails or customer data leaked. The customers want their privacy to be valued and the breaches may involve leaking their payment information as well. If a data breach has occurred once, even the potential leads would doubt or hesitate to trust the business.
Loss of Intellectual Property
In certain cases, the hackers also try to target strategies, designs, and blueprints of a business. The manufacturing and construction businesses are more prone to this type of threat.
Although smaller businesses may think that they’re not at risk, but 60% of hackers target small startups – as they are easier to attack.
Losing intellectual property of a business can impact their competitiveness. Even rivals may take advantage of such situations.
Hidden Costs
Not just the surface-level costs, there are some hidden costs involved with the data security breach. For example, costs for legal actions, investigations, PR, etc. Even regulatory fines details that remain hidden can cost a fortune to a business firm after data breach.
Online Vandalism
Certain hackers like calling themselves ‘pranksters’. While it may seem to be a harmless breach, it can cause drastic damage that you may not notice in the beginning.
For instance, a hacker may change some important contact numbers or a few letters on your contact page. They may even add some vulgar comments to your website content. This will seriously damage your reputation and the customer base.
To prevent your business from a security breach, consider encrypting your online data and avoid opening risky emails. Also, keep your software updated to prevent vulnerabilities.