By the Stats: A Security Breach May Impact Your Bottom Line

Consumers who’ve been notified that their personally identifiable information (PII) had been compromised are more than upset -- 59 percent of them either consider terminating or actually terminate their relationships with the offending corporations, according to a new consumer study sponsored by law firm White& Case. The survey, conducted by the respected privacy research organization Ponemon Institute, asked 10,000 adults what actions they took after their PII was mishandled:

¥ 58 percent said the breach decreased their sense of trust and confidence in the organization reporting the incident;
¥ 52 percent said the breach notices they received were difficult to understand;
¥ 40 percent said they were thinking about severing relationships with the responsible companies;
¥ 39 percent said they felt the breach notification was not honest and believable;
¥ 19 percent actually did severe relationships with the offending corporations; and
¥ 5 percent hired lawyers.

“That 5 percent may not sound like much, until you realize that anywhere between 23 million and 50 million Americans have received notification of a data security breach,” said David Bender, co-head of White& Case’s privacy practice. “That means more than 1 million people are likely seeking legal counsel. This should be particularly troubling to companies, especially in light of several putative class-action lawsuits recently filed in California against companies that experienced security breaches.”

For more on this study, visit: www.whitecase.com.