Tuesday, November 15, 2005

14 Million Reasons For Boards to Audit INFOSEC...

How much does a security breach cost a company? According to the latest research from The Ponemon Institute the answer is $14,000,000 per incident.

Ponemon estimates an average cost of $14m per security breach incident, with costs ranging as high as $50m. The survey, Lost Customer Information: What Does a Data Breach Cost Companies?, is among the first to look at data from actual cases of lost customer data. Covering 14 separate incidents, the research encompasses 1.4m compromised data records and an estimated total of $200m in resulting losses. Total cost estimates include the actual cost of internal investigations, outside legal defense fees, notification and call center costs, PR and investor relations efforts, discounted services offered, lost employee productivity, and the effect of lost customers.


However, it may be greater in terms of the average revenue per customer. One in five US consumers quizzed by Ponemon Institute said they immediately terminated their accounts with vendors that lost their information.

No comments: