Survey reveals lack of disclosure on data breaches to customers

By Laura Lyne

A SECURITY provider based in Citywest recently released results of a survey that showed that almost half of Irish businesses would not disclose a data breach to impacted third parties, customers and suppliers.

The 2016 Ward Solutions Information Security Report was undertaken by Ward Solutions and showed that 46 per cent of businesses would not disclose the breach, despite 33 per cent of businesses admitting they have suffered a data breach in the past 12 months.

It also found that 26 per cent of companies have not planned for potential data breaches, with 42 per cent of companies believing that IT security concerns and precautions hinder business growth.

CEO of Ward Solutions, Pat Larkin said: “There’s a worrying trend that cybercrime is being under-reported in Ireland.

“Customers place their trust in the companies they deal with and it is every business’s obligation to be transparent with those customers and inform them of any risk to their data.

“However, we do expect that more robust compliance obligations will drive reporting levels up in the near future.

“It is crucial for all Irish businesses to know exactly where their data is at all times and who is handling it.

“A lack of that knowledge puts organisations, and their customers, at greater risk of being attacked.”

Full information about the report, including details on ransomware incidents, can be found at www.ward.ie