Data breaches have a significant impact on whether a customer will interact with an organization again, according to new research fromSafeNet, Inc., a global leader in data protection solutions. The global research surveyed over 4,500 adults across five of the world’s largest economies – US, UK, Germany, Japan, and Australia. It found that nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of respondents would never, or were very unlikely to, shop or do business again with a company that had experienced a data breach where financial data (credit card information, bank account number, or associated login details) was stolen.
According to the findings of the Q2 Breach Level Index, which were also released today by SafeNet, a total of 237 data breaches occurred this year between April and June 2014[1], exposing more than 175 million records worldwide. The survey results illustrate the impact that data breaches can have on customer loyalty and corporate revenue. Data breaches involving personal identifiable information were deemed to be slightly less harmful to an organization than breaches involving financial data, with just over half (57 percent) suggesting they would never, or were very unlikely to, shop or do business again with a company that had experienced a data breach of this nature.
“Data breaches are not just breaches of security. They’re also breaches of trust between companies and their customers, and can result in not only negative publicity but lost business, lawsuits, and fines that can threaten the viability of the business. For organizations that fail to address their security vulnerabilities, the problem is only going to get worse as stricter regulations governing the reporting of data breaches are introduced across the world, making breaches more visible to the public. So companies need to do all that they can to keep customer data protected,” said Tsion Gonen, chief strategy officer, SafeNet.
