Yes. Every company is likely to suffer some kind of data breach; it’s not a case of if a data breach will occur, it is a case of when. The size and impact of a data breach can vary, for example a data breach could be an employee sending an email with an attachment to the wrong individual or it could be an unauthorised third-party hacking into your company’s systems to encrypt and exfiltrate data to demand the payment of a ransom. Also, data breaches don’t always just impact personal data, they can also impact business confidential information, which may be particularly sensitive if made public.
The costs of responding to a data breach can be large. Your company will need to consider the costs associated with investigating and containing the breach, notifying impacted individuals, customers and/or regulators, carrying out any remedial security work as well as any business interruption losses (for example, losses caused by an inability to operate, losing customers and any downstream legal costs such as litigation and government enforcement). Data breaches can also impact brand reputation and could lead to fundraising friction.
To help manage the running of an incident, it is advised that your company has in place an Incident Response Plan, which will set out the steps your company should take to manage an incident, from instructing third-party forensics teams and external counsel to the communication channels that should be stood up to escalate issues and report back to central management.
Learn More:
• UK Founder Series: Compliance Matters
• UK Founder Series: Navigate the Evolving Cyber Threat Landscape