A recent report from the Ponemon Institute found that the cost of a data breach to a company is on the rise. The 2014 Cost of Data Breach Study discovered the average breach cost an organization $3.5 million, an increase of 15 percent from 2013. The price of a stolen record was also high, with each piece of compromised data costing a business $201.
Researchers with the Ponemon Institute estimated that it takes up to two years for a company to recover from a breach, due to issues such as lost revenue and a damaged reputation. Data breaches can seriously hurt a brand, as consumers blame companies for not adequately protecting their personal information and respond by revoking their patronage. Financial services firms, pharmaceutical companies and healthcare providers are especially vulnerable to customer loss, according to the report.
Nearly 60 percent of consumers surveyed who had been victims of fraud stated that their trust in a retailer dropped dramatically after a data breach. In fact, only 10 percent of respondents said they believed retailers were capable of keeping their personal and financial information safe.
The report found that companies estimate their systems will encounter 12 sustained probes a month and experience traffic from 17 malicious codes. The primary root cause of data breaches in most countries participating in the study was a malicious insider or criminal attack.
Reducing the cost of a data breach
An interesting fact brought to light by the report was that companies that put a data breach recovery plan in place were able to suffer less damage and save money. Organizations that had implemented a recovery plan saved an average of $42 per lost or stolen record. Companies looking to employ such a plan should begin by implementing a fax-over-IP service to protect sensitive information stored within business communication.
FoIP utilizes dedicated cloud servers to store data contained in messages and employs advanced encryption algorithms to protect sensitive enterprise information. When a fax is sent with a FoIP provider like FaxCore, the image is encrypted and only the message's specified recipient has the key to decrypt it. Fax-over-IP solutions drastically increase the privacy and security of enterprise data, reducing the risk of data breach and saving money.
Enhance enterprise communication, collaboration and compliance efforts with a proven FoIP solution from FaxCore. Contact FaxCore today to learn more about their 'Partly-Cloudy' fax solutions.
