Introduction
As data breaches become increasingly common, businesses have to deal with the fallout. This can include fines, regulatory investigations and class-action lawsuits. The most recent high-profile data breach was that of Equifax in 2017. What is the impact on businesses after a breach? Here we look at some of the key factors that make up a business’s response to an incident like this.
An International Threat?
Data breaches are a global problem. Theft of personal data is a global problem, and cybercrime is a global problem. Data breaches aren't just an American problem or British one--they're happening all over Europe, too!
The recent Equifax breach has become the largest data breach in history: 143 million people were affected by it. However, this isn't just an American story; it's also been reported that Equifax was hacked from overseas (i.e., outside the U.S.).
Data Breach and Cybersecurity Legislation
Data breach legislation is now a global phenomenon, but it has its origins in the European Union. The EU's Data Protection Directive (or DPD) was introduced in 1995 as a means of ensuring that companies were doing enough to protect customer data. Since then, there have been many changes to this law.
In October 2018, the European Union adopted new rules around how companies must handle personal information when they're handling sensitive information like health records or personal finances--but these regulations apply only to businesses based within member states (EU countries).
Denial of Service Attacks on Online Businesses
Denial of Service attacks are a type of cyberattack that attempts to disrupt the availability or operation of a computer, server or network. The term "denial" refers to the fact that while such an attack occurs, it prevents legitimate users from accessing their systems and services.
DoS attacks can be very damaging because they can cause widespread disruption across multiple networks. They also tend to target large organizations because they have more resources than smaller businesses and can afford better defenses against these types of attacks. Denial-of-service (DOS) attacks are often used as diversions by hackers who want you onto their website so that they can infect it with malware or steal sensitive information from your account log-in page.
Impact of a Data Breach on Customers
A data breach can have a wide-ranging impact on your business, and not just in terms of the financial costs. A data breach can also affect customer trust, which is one of the most important factors for determining whether or not a customer will continue using your product or service. If they don't trust you, they won't use it--or worse yet, they may even sue!
Some examples (and quite likely some you've experienced) include:
- Customers are less likely to trust an organization with their personal information if it's been hacked. This means that customers may be less likely to purchase from a company after experiencing an incident like this one.
- Customers might also think twice about using social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter because these sites hold onto user data for years at a time; this could make people feel uncomfortable going back online after having been hacked previously by another account holder/organization!
Legal Proceedings Following a Data Breach
If you are a business executive, it is important that you understand the legal consequences of a data breach. A data breach can result in any number of actions by law enforcement agencies and private parties--including criminal charges, civil proceedings and fines.
Before we discuss these ramifications further: let's clarify what constitutes a "data breach" for purposes of this article. A "data breach" refers to any incident where sensitive information about customers or employees has been compromised due to unauthorized access or disclosure. This includes everything from lost laptops containing customer credit card numbers being stolen while they were left unattended in an unlocked car overnight at an office party (a common occurrence) all the way up through major hacks involving hundreds of millions of records stolen at once by hackers who control entire networks used by banks and other institutions worldwide
Takeaway:
Data breaches are a serious threat to businesses, and they can have a devastating effect on your brand. Take steps now to ensure that your data is secure with the help of Cybersecurity Cape Girardeau and that you're prepared for legal proceedings. And be sure to prepare yourself for customer backlash if the breach is discovered.
Conclusion
As we have discussed, data breaches can have a profound impact on businesses and their customers. They can also put law enforcement agencies in an awkward position if they are investigating crimes that took place with the use of stolen information or other misappropriated data. In order to avoid these situations, businesses should take steps to protect themselves from cybercrime before it occurs. This includes increasing cybersecurity awareness among employees as well as implementing preventative measures such as security software or firewalls at all levels of your organization.
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