Over $200 billion at risk if top brands suffer a data breach
A new report looking at the long-tail impact data breaches have on a brand's value shows that the world's 100 most valuable brands could lose as much as $223 billion from a data breach.
The study from IT consulting firm Infosys and brand consultancy Interbrand looks at the brand factors most impacted when a company suffers a data breach -- presence, affinity, and trust -- and simulates the resulting brand value at risk in the event of a breach.
Technology and business services brands face the highest losses from data breaches relative to their net income -- risking as much as 116 percent and 111 percent of their profits, respectively. In industries where brand plays a bigger role in purchasing decisions, such as luxury goods, brands may see lower actual financial cost from a data breach, but these losses tend to make up a greater proportion of their net income.
Brands that play a deeper, more meaningful role in people's lives have more to lose. For example video communications brands risk losing 3,200 percent of their net income if they experience a breach, compared to just 42 percent for enterprise software brands.
"Cybersecurity for long was seen as a cost of doing business," says Vishal Salvi, chief information security officer and head of cyber security practice at Infosys says, "However, in this digital age, where a company's reputation is based on its ability to protect customer data and establish digital trust, cybersecurity is becoming a business differentiator. Through this report, we bring a novel approach to quantifying the impact of a data breach to the brand value to help businesses understand and evaluate if the cybersecurity investments they are making are proportionate to the risk they face. It also reinforces the need for CISOs to engage with the board and build a robust governance ecosystem while employing a 'secure by design' approach to safeguard their brand value and reputation"
You can get the full report from the Infosys site and there's a short video overview below.
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