Internet Privacy in the Digital Age
As Internet usage continues to grow all across the world, security risks have become a reality for businesses. Irrespective of the size and type of your business, you cannot ignore the possibility of Internet security risks. Online security risks pose a major threat to businesses, as evidenced by the following recent events:
- In October 2013, 3 million encrypted customer credit card records were stolen
- In November 2013, 110 million customers had their name, address, phone number and e-mail address exposed
- In March 2014, 27,000 employees at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center were affected by a data breach
Serious repercussions caused by security threats have led to IT security executives spelling out their fears. In the event of a data breach, IT security executives have expressed the following concerns:
- 62.7 percent of IT security executives fear negative publicity affecting the company’s reputation
- 9.8 percent fear a loss of sales or business
Online security threats pose a bigger threat for the small and mid-sized businesses as reflected in the following findings:
- 50 percent of confirmed data breaches targeted small businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees
- 31 percent of cyber attacks targeted small businesses with fewer than 250 employees
- 193 incidents targeted small businesses with fewer than 100 employees
- 60 percent of small businesses fail within six months of a cyber attack
- 60 percent of small businesses say they do not have a privacy policy that employees must comply with when they handle customer or employee information
To learn how to protect your valuable information in the digital age, take a look at the detailed infographic below by Champlain College Online Master of Science in Law.
