Though data breaches often make headlines when it comes to enterprise security, what’s missing in the news articles and reports are the details of how adversaries gained access to the organizations’ assets in the first place.
This is the reason why IT departments in several companies fail to balance security issues and take adequate measures to reduce data breach costs. As of late, the potential for data breaches has increased with the use of mobile devices in enterprises, including tablets and smartphones owned by staffers who bring in their personal gadgets to work.
A survey of 882 IT organizations, sponsored by six data security vendors and conducted by Crowd Research Partners, revealed that 1 in 5 companies (21 percent) experienced a data breach through the use of enterprise-owned mobile devices. Cited reasons included employees connecting to unsecured WiFi hotspots and opening malicious sites.
Another report stated that mobile data breaches could cost an organization $26.4 million. It also revealed that mobile data breaches are more common than most may think. 2/3 of organizations revealed that they suffered a data breach because employees were using their smartphones to access the company’s sensitive information.
Reducing the Cost of Mobile Data Breaches
Fortunately, there are certain measures that can be taken by enterprises to reduce the cost of mobile data breaches. The tactics should be adopted in conjunction with measures to prevent mobile data breaches. However, if preventive measures fail, companies would at least minimize the loss with the below-mentioned steps.
#1. Recover Lost Data
When a data breach occurs, companies lose confidential information about corporate assets, customers, etc. Reliable mobile phone data recovery services can bring back the lost or corrupt data.
Typically, data recovery is performed by bypassing the OS which allows the recovery vendor to bring back all the deleted data on the gadget. Mobile recovery and forensic engineers will perform tasks like data decoding, decryption and file system extraction to recover as much sensitive information as possible.
#2. Consider Data Breach Insurance
A good insurance will typically cover several risks such as accidental loss of data, disclosure of important information, crisis management, data restoration, business fallout expenses, and introduction of viruses or malware.
Given the tremendous financial damage associated with mobile data breaches, enterprise security insurance is no longer a specialty investment. After you get covered, send a notice immediately to the insurer in case of a breach. In addition, you can consult with existing insurance providers to know whether or not their standard policies include data breach coverage.
#3. File Lawsuits against Responsible Third-Parties
If losses can’t be covered by insurance, try to recover damages through litigation where possible. For instance, if an adversary accessed your company’s sensitive information by infiltrating the network through enterprise internet endpoints, you can sue the internet service provider.
Also, certain apps are the cause of malware on mobile devices, so creators of those apps may be held liable to a suffering enterprise for damages caused as a result of malware. Claims for violations and negligence could also be made against malicious insiders if sufficient evidence is available.
It’s unlikely that costs of mobile data breaches will shrink on their own anytime soon, but these measures will pay off to a significant extent.
