Ride the Lightning

I have neglected to report on the Experian Data Breach Resolution Group releasing the findings of its second annual study on data breach preparedness. The study, which was conducted by the Ponemon Institute, surveyed 567 executives in the U.S. and found that 73 percent of companies now have data breach response plans in place, compared to 61 percent of organizations polled in 2013.

However, the study found that only 30 percent of executives believed their companies were “effective” or “very effective” in developing and executing a data breach plan.

“Confidence among senior executives is low as 68 percent of the respondents still felt unprepared for a breach and 30 percent actually said their data breach response plan was ineffective,” said Michael Bruemmer, vice president of the Experian Data Breach Resolution Group. “If I had to pick one thing that really stood out it is that less than 25 percent were confident they could communicate and manage consumer needs, which to me is very enlightening given how critical it is in not only complying with the legal notification requirements, but more importantly, trying to protect your brand.”

43 percent of executives said their companies had experienced a breach in the last 12 months, compared to 33 percent in 2013. Sixty percent of respondents said that their company has experienced more than one data breach in the past two years.

“Ironically, 17 percent of the executives said they weren’t sure if had had an incident or not, which I found somewhat surprising given that they are the ones in the executive chair,” said Bruemmer.

 

Frankly, I found that astonishing in today's times. Being aware of data breaches isn't part of their job?

The study also found that there are more technology resources being devoted to thwarting breaches with 48 percent of executives saying they had increased spending on cybersecurity technology over the past 12 months. In addition, the number of organizations purchasing cyberinsurance policies more than doubled with 26 percent of executives saying their company had bought a policy compared with just 10 percent that said they had done so in 2013.

I am glad to see that number move up because we consistently find that when we ask audiences if they KNOW that they have a cybersecurity insurance policy that will cover a data breach, no hands go up.

E-mail:    Phone: 703-359-0700
Digital Forensics/Information Security/Information Technology
http://www.senseient.com
http://twitter.com/sharonnelsonesq