Employee error most likely cause of data breaches
The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Foundation has released the largest study of its kind on corporate cybersecurity. The ACC Foundation: The State of Cybersecurity Report, released on Thursday, found that cyber security breaches were most likely to be the result of internal factors – employee error or an “inside job.”
Cybersecurity touches every aspect of consumer and corporate culture today. Preventing, preparing for and responding to data breaches in real time is a chief concern for individuals, corporate leaders and government regulators. The full report includes industry and regional trends, common preventative tactics, lessons learned from those who experienced a breach (including how the breach occurred and who was affected), the impact of regulatory requirements, insurance decision making and coverage information, and managing risk through outside support such as forensic and outside counsel retainers and more. A short summary of the report is found here.
The report includes insights on cybersecurity issues from more than 1,000 corporate lawyers at 887 organizations worldwide – most of whom hold the position of General Counsel (GC) or Chief Legal Officer (CLO). More than half of in-house counsel report that their companies have increased spending on cybersecurity. Still, the report indicated that many organizations are not taking basic precautions to prevent a data breach.
The State of Cybersecurity Report shows that:
- One-third of in-house counsel have experienced a data breach
- Employee error is the most likely cause of a breach; inside jobs are second
- Worldwide, in-house counsel say reputational damage is the greatest concern, followed by loss of proprietary information, and economic damage
- IT departments were how most corporate executives learned about a breach
- Among in-house counsel whose companies have experienced a data breach, 47 percent said the breach occurred recently, in 2015 or 2014.
- The health care/social assistance industry are almost twice as likely (56 percent versus 31 percent) to report that they have experienced a data breach; with insurance industry in-house lawyers (36 percent) coming in second.
When asked how the system was breached:
Today’s general counsel, chief legal officers and external counsel, who are increasingly called on to guide their organizations (clients) and aid with thwarting such attacks, play a significant role in implementing best practices and regulations to prevent cybercriminals from acquiring protected information. Knowing common practices, what works and what your peers are doing is key in benchmarking and planning to protect your company from risk. Straddling business, IT and legal, today’s GCs/CLOs are uniquely positioned to engage the multiple stakeholders that a robust data protection regime requires.
Should you have any questions about how to protect your business from a Cyber Security breach, or what to do if you a breach occurs, or would like to schedule a free initial consultation, please contact Waltz, Palmer & Dawson, LLC at (847)253-8800 or contact us online.
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