My understanding by ‘data breach’
Data breaches happen when data that a company is responsible for suffers from security incidents resulting in a breach.
The breach likely poses a risk to an individual’s rights and freedoms, and the company/organisation has to notify the right authority immediately and at the latest within 72 hours after having become aware of the breach. If your company/organisation is a data processor it must notify you of every data breach to the data controller.
If the data breach poses a high risk to those affected, they should also be informed.
Consequences of a data breach to a company
They’re short-term and long-term consequences.
The immediate consequences of a data breach are less well known but can be every bit as damaging to your bottom line. A host of direct financial consequences often fall directly on businesses in the wake of a data breach:
Direct fines and fees
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council may impose fines and penalties as a result of a data breach. Additional fines will vary depending but may come from both regulatory agencies and card network brands.
Forensic investigations
One of the consequences of a data breach is that the business that was attacked will be responsible for performing a forensic investigation in order to determine the causes of the data breach. These investigations often yield valuable evidence and insights that help prevent future data breaches. In the short term, however, these investigations can be costly.
Future security costs
Businesses that are the victim of a data breach may incur costs related to mandatory credit monitoring for customers whose data was compromised. Those remediation efforts may also include the costs of card replacement, identity theft repair and additional compliance requirements from the Payment Card Industry.
In the long-term consequences and perhaps the biggest consequence is the Loss of customer trust and diminished reputation.
Consequences of a data breach to a client
From the client point of view, a data breach can be very scary. The fact that your personal details can be exchanged and/or exposed on the internet.
When that happens, you’ll need to have a quick response and be super vigilant, change passwords don’t reply/click on links of any unexpected email.