In honor of Data Privacy Day on January 28, the Online Trust Alliance (OTA) released a 33-page guide to ensuring data privacy, preventing data breaches, and managing cyber liability risks for businesses of all sizes, in both the public and private sector.
The Data Protection & Breach Readiness Guide highlights the data breach events from 2012 and lays out strategies for managing risks in the coming year. Here’s a look at highlights from the report.
- 2012 saw a 35 percent increase in data breaches from 2011 to 2012, with 1,478 breach incident occurring last year.
- In 2012, more than 242 consumer records were exposed worldwide because of data breaches.
- Analysts estimate $94 million in direct data breach costs, which doesn’t include indirect costs (such as those from reputation damage, lost business, and other harm).
Cyber Liability & Data Breach Prevention in 2013
The OTA’s recommendations for managing cyber liability and preventing data breaches this year caution business owners and leaders to build policies around the following key trends.
- Data loss prevention (DLP) technologies: As businesses gather more and more customer data through standard sales and marketing practices, the need for tools to manage that data has grown. Software firms have responded by introducing technologies specifically designed to secure and manage various types of data: stored data, data transmitted digitally, and data kept on devices that can be physically moved or altered.
- Data lifecycle management: As technology changes and “normal” data collection evolves, a company’s policies for collecting and handling data must also evolve. This means that businesses should regularly update their privacy policies and train all employees in proper handling of sensitive information.
- Bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies: With more and more businesses implementing BYOD policies to cut costs and boost convenience, the risk of data breaches grows. In its report, OTA emphasizes the importance of implementing and enforcing a BYOD policy for any business that allows employees to use their own devices.
Tools for Preventing Data Breaches & Managing Cyber Liability Risk
In addition to guidelines for businesses that collect customer data, the report includes resources for business owners to use as part of their data breach risk management efforts. These include a sample customer notification letter for data breach incidents, Data Breach Insurance considerations, encryption resources, and a sample outline for managing a data breach incident.
Writtten by Brenna Lemieux - check her out at Google+ or Twitter