How Hacked Data Could Sink Your Business

Although your company may engage in numerous levels of security to prevent data breaches, all it takes is one open door to create a significant information leak. That is right. You have to fend off attempts that compromise your data every time they occur; but, a hacker only has to get through once to create a serious problem for your company.

You may think that hacking is too difficult a skill to learn? You are probably mistaken since with use of ethical hacking tools  anyone can hack into your server and steal data. Also, more and more people are learning hacking since there are plenty of good hacking books available now.

It is not until a company has experienced such a compromise first hand that most business owners will recognize the full scope of the damage caused to a business. Often the damage that results will create serious problems on multiple levels.

A Mild Data Scare

Habits of your customers make all the difference in the world, and you ought to know what they like and dislike when they come to shop with you. Gathering customer and business statistics has become a quite a big deal and these days companies are racing to get as much data, likes and dislikes of everyday users, leading to current rise of Internet of Things. Thus, it is inevitable that hackers will attempt to compromise your company’s data and steal that valuable info. In some instances, all they will get is insignificant data.

These mild data scares turn out to be your company’s opportunity to determine if a more serious problem is not brewing with your in-house network and data security protocols. But, even if a hacker gets only as far as you intend them to get, you must still wonder how far a more experienced hacker can push the envelope.

Compromised Data Can Ruin Your Company’s Reputation

When a company is forced to acknowledge that a sensitive data breach has occurred, the media wastes no time spreading the word to anyone and everyone it can. 

A serious enough data breach leaked to the media will inevitably cause serious damage to your company’s otherwise excellent reputation. Concerns over the security issues going on inside your company could easily cost you clients and potential future income. 

According to this source, the results of a ruined corporate reputation extends by association to a company brand. This means that a company’s product sales could potentially drop as a result of enduring a data compromise that goes public. 

To make matters worse, there is little a company can do, other than downplay the event, to recover from how the public chooses to view such an incident. Restoring consumer trust in a brand associated with a data compromise is inevitably an uphill battle every step of the way.

The Coming Lawsuits

When a corporate data breach includes sensitive customer data, the damage does not simply end with your company’s network being hacked. Clients and customers tend to want legal compensation for being put at risk by a company they once trusted. 

Since they are unlikely going to be able to go after the individuals truly responsible for the data compromise, the only one left to hold legally accountable is your company. It’s like getting kicked in the teeth for being the victim; yet, this does not prevent the courts from meeting out what they believe is justice in such matters. Often this means that your company will be forced to compensate its customers monetarily as the financial bloodletting continues. 

In a serious data breach, this compensation effort can reach billions of dollars and be spread across potentially thousands of customers making legal claims against your company.

When Your Data Compromise is My Data Compromise

Everyone remembers the data compromise of Sony back in 2014. According to Deadline, this threat to Sony’s intellectual property extended to raise concerns about the integrity of the scripts harbored at the Writer’s Guild of America West. When a company of a particular industry has its data and intellectual property leaked, this can create panic and concern directed at other companies belonging to the same industry.

Conclusion

It is not a matter of if a hacker will attempt to compromise your company’s data, but when. Every day, hackers troll the digital landscape in search of vulnerabilities they can exploit at your company’s expense. If your company is unable to rise to the challenge, the results could spell disaster for your company’s reputation and its bottom line. Every effort should be made to ensure that the sensitive data your company depends on is safe and secure from a serious data breach.