Business, Customers Not On Same Page With Securing Personal Data

Centrify, an identity and assessment management (IAM) solution company, revealed on Monday (Nov. 6) the results of a survey that show businesses are not inspiring consumer confidence when it comes to protecting personal information in the event of a cyberattack.

In a press release announcing the news, the company — which commissioned a Ponemon Institute study conducted across the U.S., the U.K., Germany and Australia — found 62 percent of consumers have been notified by a company or a government agency when their personal data was lost or stolen as a result of one or more data breaches. Of those, 36 percent said they had experienced two or more separate incidents. A third of the 36 percent said they ended their relationship with the company that experienced the data breach.

The survey found that 69 percent of consumers say a company’s privacy and data security practices are very important to preserving their trust. Data breaches and cyberattacks are on the rise, with an increase of 40 percent in the last year alone. The survey found that 80 percent of respondents believe companies have an obligation to take reasonable steps to secure their personal information. That compares to only 65 percent of CMOs and 64 percent of IT professionals who agree with that assessment.

“This survey is a wake-up call for the C-suite, because data breaches will cost them customers and affect the bottom line — but it doesn’t have to. According to Forrester, 80 percent of breaches involve privileged credentials misuse, which is a vulnerability that has a clear solution,” said Bill Mann, chief product officer at Centrify, in a press release revealing the results of the survey. “Companies can expediently stop breaches through a trifecta of identity services for applications, endpoints and infrastructure. Taking these steps not only goes a long way to ensure company security but ultimately can help garner customer loyalty.”