The Realtime IT Compliance blog carried a significant post the other day – the first signs of US civil lawsuits against companies losing customer data.
In this case, it is a $54 million claim against Best Buy for losing a customer’s laptop, but watch this space for similar lawsuits for other forms of data loss and leakage – this is just the beginning.
Organisations taking a lax approach to data security are about to find out just how costly this can be for them. Such cases attract plenty of headlines, so sloppy businesses will have to start making much greater provisions for brand and reputational damage. We like to think that mature executive teams can be self-policing when it comes to looking after their customers, but too often takes a potentially ruinous fine to focus their minds on the issue.
The alternative is to protect your customers and your own interests by adopting a best practice Information Security Management System. ISO27001 is the answer but remains an alien concept to many directors – perhaps a few courtroom pay days are just what we need.
