Organizations with poor privacy practices 80% more likely to suffer data breach

There’s a predictive relationship between responsible privacy practices and security outcomes, according to Osano.

Companies with inadequate data privacy practices are 80 percent more likely to suffer a data breach than those with the highest-ranked privacy practices and will face fines seven times larger than companies with the best scores in the event of a data breach.

Privacy issues

• Companies with the lowest privacy scores lost 600% more records than high-scoring companies.
• The worst privacy actors are the least likely to be able to retrospectively identify the root cause of a breach.
• Of the entities that get breached, governments have the worst scores.
• Educational and government websites are 15x more likely to experience a breach than commercial sites.

“In the face of nonstop breaches and increased data security awareness, consumer and shareholder confidence in businesses is slowly eroding. Businesses that fail to protect sensitive data will face serious negative consequences, and the report proves just how these phenomena move hand-in-hand.” said Osano CEO, Arlo Gilbert.

“There is a perception that privacy issues are akin to a speeding ticket – a risk worth running. Companies that don’t change their perception are facing higher odds of experiencing a data breach and losing the trust they’ve built with their customers.”

Third parties responsible for most data breaches

The average company shares its data with 730 different vendors, and according to the Internal Auditors Research Foundation, third parties were responsible for two out of every three data breaches.

Many companies are lagging behind current data privacy requirements. By prioritizing best-in-class privacy practices, companies can reduce the risk of security incidents and demonstrate trustworthiness to customers.