Having your customers’ credit card numbers or personal information stolen or leaked in a data breach may be a CEO’s worst nightmare. Not only does your company face downtime and expenses in fixing the breach, you stand to suffer damage to your reputation that may have a long-term impact on sales. In today’s data rich world, computer security for businesses ranks among the top operational concerns for managers and top-level administrators. Read an example here.
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Proof in the Numbers
- 86 percent of 2,000 respondents said they were “not at all likely” or “not very likely” to do business with an organization that had suffered a data breach involving credit or debit card details, according to a 2015 study conducted by UK-based fraud prevention company Semafone.
- Target’s sales fell by 46 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2013 after their data breach was revealed.
- 46 percent of companies have suffered damage to their reputations and brand value as the result of a breach according the the Forbes Insights report, ‘Fallout: the Reputational Impact of IT Risk.’
The Value of Your Brand
So what is the value of your brand and company reputation? Brand perception can affect the following areas in any organization:
- Attracting new customers
- Retaining existing customers
- Recruiting skilled employees
- Attracting investors
FREE Guide: Everything You Need to Know About Network Security
Preventing a Breach
There are a number of steps companies can take to prevent a data breach in the first place. The first move is taking stock of your organization’s current network security. Beyond the standard requirements of up-to-date malware and a strong firewall, employers should educate any employees who use computers about the dangers of phony emails, weak passwords, and accessing company information from unsecured mobile devices.
Total Computer Solutions in Greensboro, NC, offers customized security training as well as security consulting for businesses throughout the Piedmont Triad region. Contact us for more information about how our security training for employees can strengthen your network security.
