Data breaches are unfortunately a common occurrence in today’s business world. It’s not surprising that while businesses use technology to defend their organizations against cybersecurity attacks, cybercriminals also leverage technology to conduct more sophisticated attacks that are difficult to detect.
To date, billions of people have had their personal data exposed to cyber attackers as breaches increase in number and sophistication. In 2018, nearly 5 billion people had their sensitive data and information exposed to criminal hacks.
If you had an account with Facebook, British Airways, or T-Mobile, chances are you could be among the millions of people whose passwords, email addresses, credit card numbers, passport numbers, and billing addresses were exposed.
These data breaches not only impact customers, but often cause an array of collateral damage including damage to brand reputation, significant fines, market shares, and loss in revenue for the companies involved in the breach.
Data breaches have long-term, devastating effects on businesses. In fact, a survey conducted by Security.org found that nearly 25% of Americans said they would no longer conduct business with a company that has experienced a data breach.
Here are some of the most common and harmful long-term effects of data breaches on businesses:
