In today’s world, there are more threats to sensitive information than ever. While security measures are constantly improving, hackers seem to always be one step ahead of the game.
Many businesses must store sensitive information out of necessity. However, if you aren’t careful, your business may be liable for any breaches in your data.
Are you liable?
A data breach can happen to anyone—individual or business. While it may seem strange for a business to be on the hook for a crime that someone else commits, a business that experiences a data breach may be liable for damages that the breach causes.
This is because a business is responsible for properly storing and protecting the sensitive information that they use for business operations.
For example, a business who is involved in a lot of transactions may store customer information—e.g. addresses, credit card information and birth dates. If a data breach compromises that information, the company may be liable for any damages that their customers suffered.
The importance of negligence
However, just because your company suffered a data breach, does not mean you are automatically liable. In most cases, an organization will only be liable if they were negligent in preventing the data breach. Negligence may include:
- Failing to implement required safeguards for the data
- Failing to remedy the damage once the breach happened
- Failing to notify the affected individuals of the data breach
What to do after a data breach
Depending on the severity, a data breach can be a devastating event for a business. If you suffer a data breach, you want to make sure that you quickly respond to mitigate the damage and inform those affected.
You should also be aware that each state’s regulations and requirements may differ slightly from each other. Contacting a lawyer can help you navigate the aftermath of a breach.
Subscribe To This Blog’s Feed
