Despite many healthcare companies experiencing or anticipating significant cost and business disruption due to material data breaches, they still struggle to take measures to mitigate damage in the wake of an incident.
That is the finding of a new report released by Experian Data Breach Resolution and the Ponemon Institute.
The report, titled “Is Your Company Ready for a Big Data Breach?” examines the consequences of data breach incidents and the steps taken to lessen future damage. Respondents include senior privacy and compliance professionals of organizations that experienced at least one data breach. The top three industries represented are retail, health and pharmaceuticals, and financial services.
“A majority of companies we surveyed indicate they have already or are very likely to lose customers and business partners, receive negative publicity and face serious financial consequences due to a data breach,” said Michael Bruemmer, vice president at Experian Data Breach Resolution.
“Yet, despite understanding the consequences, many companies struggle to take the right steps to mitigate the fallout following an incident, demonstrating a need for better awareness and investment in the tools that can alleviate negative customer perceptions.”
Dr Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, added that the study findings show that organizations need to prioritize preventing future breaches and better manage post-breach response.
"In addition to improving technical safeguards, it's clear that companies also should focus more attention on meeting the needs of affected consumers that suffer a data breach," he said.
data breaches, health care, Experian Data Breach Resolution, healthcare risk management
