The Impact Of A Data Breach: 4 Things That Can Happen To Your Business

Identity theft is a growing concern in the United States. In fact, as many as one in every 16 Americans were the victim of identity theft in 2016 alone.

Identity theft can be detrimental to an individual’s finances and credit history, but it can be especially damaging to a business. Corporate identity theft costs American businesses $48 million every year. For this reason, local shredding companies are often used for secure document disposal.

To put the importance of document destruction into perspective, here are some of the most common repercussions of a breach of corporate information.

• Loss of reputation. One of the most damaging outcomes of corporate identity theft is the loss of a business’s reputation. A privacy breach, especially one involving customer information, can put a stigma on your business that can be difficult to move on from even after becoming more secure in the future.
• Fines. Another common outcome of corporate identity theft is legal or criminal penalty fines. These fines are often the result of a company’s failure to properly and safely handle customer information. These fines can often cost companies millions of dollars which could very well put a company out of business.
• Lawsuits. Similar to fines, lawsuits may be filed against a business that fails to protect its customer information. These lawsuits may not hurt your company like an expensive fine, but it can certainly put a damper on your business’s reputation.
• Criminal penalties. Depending on the size of the breach of sensitive information and whether the breach involved company or customer data, your company could see criminal penalties. These penalties may vary in size and severity. However, most penalties involve a fine with one to 10 years in prison.

Identity thieves can easily access information that’s been disposed of improperly. In fact, approximately 90% of identity thefts occur as the result of stolen information from print sources.

It’s for this reason that professional and secure paper local shredding companies are so necessary for corporate businesses. To prevent corporate identity theft in the future, schedule your document shredding with Data Safe today.