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Data Security: The Hidden Cost for Irish Businesses |
| Posted by Sheelagh (sheelagh) on Nov 02 2009 |
Data Security: The Hidden Cost for Irish Businesses
In the current economic climate, companies are increasingly being pushed to do more with fewer resources. However, as budgets are cut, many Irish businesses may be making themselves more vulnerable to security risks that go hand in hand with economic instability.
During the credit crunch, fraudsters are taking advantage of economic confusion and anxiety to target both consumers and businesses. The financial sector’s data handling practices have come under intense scrutiny in recent times following a number of highly publicised security breaches. Paul Kearns, General Manager of Shred-it Ireland, warns that many Irish companies are not learning from these high profile losses.
“With all businesses increasingly under pressure to reduce costs during these economically testing times, it seems that many are overlooking the importance of protecting their confidential information and that of their customers, unaware of the hidden costs that can ensue from data breaches,” says Kearns.
“If your business is unfortunate enough to suffer a security breach, the real costs associated with the loss will far outweigh any savings made by cutting back on secure data management. The biggest cost comes in the form of irreparable damage to your business’ reputation.”
With statistics unavailable on the Irish Market, recent research carried out in the UK by the Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (BERR)[1] reveals that the average total cost of a UK company's worst security breach can cost between £10,000 and £20,000, with associated costs increasing with the size of the company. For large businesses (more than 250 staff), it is between £90,000 and £170,000, and for very large businesses (more than 500 staff), security breaches can cost between £1 million and £2 million. When incidents become known about externally, the survey revealed damage to reputation could cost large businesses between £30,000 and £250,000.
Kearns added: “During the downturn, when productivity is paramount, many businesses are reluctant to free up staff time to shred documents, so that they can focus on fee generation, not administration. But by employing outsourced document destruction services, companies can boost the security of their business’ and customers’ information so they can effectively maintain the trust of their customers, facilitate regulatory compliance and keep their reputation intact.”
“Even for companies that already handle their data management in-house, cost savings can be achieved through outsourcing their document destruction. We have found that organisations, large and small, can achieve a 17 per cent productivity savings when using a professionally-managed document destruction service as compared to shredding in-house.”
Paul Kearns is General Manager for Shred-it Ireland, part of the business services company DMG Group. For further information visit www.shredit.ie
-Ends –
For further information contact:
Sheelagh Carroll
Head of Marketing
DMG Group
Phone: 01 438 0251
Email: scarroll@dmggroup.ie
About DMG Group
DMG Group is an indigenous Irish company and the parent company of the brands Filestores, Shred-it, Scan Image Services and Archives Consulting Services, enabling the group to provide a single service solution in the area of information management.
Other brands within the group include Need More Space, Two Men & A Truck and DMG Business Centres, which operate in the moving and storage sector.
DMG Group customer base extends to over 4,000 clients within the state and semi-state sectors as well as legal, banking, insurance, medical and technology sectors. DMG Group currently employs 217 people and has its head office located in Park West, Dublin 12. The company also has offices in Craigavon, Cork and Kilkenny. See www.dmggroup.ie for more information.
Last changed: Jan 28 2010 at 10:22 AM
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