Cyber risk research carried out by Noddle Protect and YouGov among senior decision-makers in large businesses, has revealed that 51 per cent are being kept awake at night by the threat of a data breach caused by a cyber-attack; and 49 per cent are having sleepless nights about a data breach resulting from data theft or irresponsible action. Noddle Protect is a new data breach solution from Callcredit Consumer Markets.
If businesses were to fall victim to a data breach, 57 per cent say their biggest concern would be damage to their reputation, ahead of a loss of customers (17 per cent), fine by a regulator (8 per cent) or fall in share price (7 per cent).
Jacqueline Dewey, Managing Director, Callcredit Consumer Markets, said: “Managing strategic risk and reputation has become a high priority for executives operating in today’s digital plc. Noddle Protect can help safeguard businesses from the reputational damage of a data breach and safeguard consumers’ digital identity,” she continued.
Four in five, 81 per cent of business decision-makers say their business is prepared to tackle a data breach compared to 12 per cent who say they are not. To protect themselves against a data breach, 53 per cent say their business has put in place a business continuity plan, while 43 per cent have a crisis management plan; but only 39 per cent have put in place a security monitoring team and only 38 per cent had appointed a board director with responsibility for IT security such as a Chief Risk Officer or Chief Data Officer.
Changes in EU data protection law mean all organisations at risk of a data breach need to be prepared to safeguard their consumers. The biggest impact on regulation will be seen in mid-2016, when the proposed EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be adopted by the EU. From about mid-2018, if organisations fall victim to a data breach, under the GDPR, they will have to inform their customers when a serious data breach occurs and could be fined up to a maximum of 4 per cent of their global turnover. Worryingly, 68 per cent of business decision makers surveyed have not heard of the GDPR.
