According to a research from Experian, data breaches are increasingly frequent and UK businesses appear to be acutely underprepared when it comes to the aftermath.
Almost a fifth (17%) of companies have lost confidential information in at least one breach over the last two years and 57% of those affected experienced multiple breaches.
About two thirds (63%) of people say they would leave an organisation if their personal information was compromised. Customer confidence and loyalty would also be greatly affected with eight in ten Britons declaring that their overall level of trust in an affected company would decrease (80%) and their opinion of the organisation would worsen (79%). More than two thirds (67%) said they would advise their friends and family against doing business with a breached organisation.
The main challenge is that the UK is expected to follow the same upward trajectory that has been observed in the US over the last five years. This means the risks of data breaches will continue to increase at a rapid rate and consequently the repercussions in terms of lost business costs, greater public awareness and reputational damage, will become considerably more serious.
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