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Kroll Ontrack warns organisations that cutting back on data protection to save money can do more harm than good
Irish companies are more at risk of a data breach than ever before as the value of data rises amid the recession, says Kroll Ontrack.
While weakening economic conditions are forcing organisations across Ireland to cut costs, the increase of both external and internal data breaches reiterates the importance of data protection. Companies that cut corners regarding data protection risk fines and a decline in profits, as well as detrimental effects on reputation and customer-retention levels.
According to a Gartner study, the cost of a sensitive data breach will increase by 20 per cent in 2009 as breaches become less opportunist and more targeted . Despite this, Kroll Ontrack research has revealed that three quarters of UK and Irish businesses do not have a data loss contingency plan in place.
This week, an Irish financial institution reported further customer data loss after a USB drive was declared missing. This follows the disappearance of 31,000 customers' data earlier this year when four of its laptops were stolen. Kroll Ontrack believes that organisations must take action to prevent potentially crippling damage to the business. By recognising the value of customer data and taking proactive steps to protect it, companies can mimimise associated side effects of loss, such as reputational damage.
"Data protection is not a nice-to-have but a must,” said Ciaran Farrell, business development manager at Kroll Ontrack Ireland. "All organisations, public or private, should be implementing encryption policies, training their staff and third party agencies in how to protect data, and never allowing sensitive material to go off-site without safety measures in place."
He continued: "The financial and reputational cost of a data breach is increasing exponentially, and both the public and private sectors are already in the dock when it comes to data protection. Effective data protection costs very little, so organisations need to see through the recession to the real cost when something goes wrong."
