In corporate America, data systems hold valuable consumer information, including credit card numbers, Social Security numbers and other confidential data. In this day and age of advanced technology, these systems run the risk of becoming victimized by cyberattacks. Cyberhackers can gain access to these information systems and instantly obtain consumer data. The problem lies in the fact that incidents of data breaches have increased significantly within the last several years.
A study conducted by the Kaspersky Law found that data breaches have increased by 11 percent in 2017 which equated to a $1.3 million increase in loses for small and medium businesses. This study gathered data from 30 countries and 5,000 businesses to look at the global effect of cyberattacks. These data breaches can have such an affect on the bottom line that 58 percent of small business owners participating in the study admitted that they place more concern on encountering a major data breach than they do suffering from a fire, flood, physical break-in at the office or even a transit strike. Small and medium business may employ anywhere from one up to 250 employees in each organization. A single data breach may be enough to end a company altogether.
Cyberattacks and other cybercrimes are a serious occurrence. An attorney in California may be helpful in assisting businesses that have been involved in such a situation. NOt only can an attorney help you investigate the situation, but they may be able to build a strong defense in prosecuting your case.
Source: Forbes, “Cybercrime & Hackers ‘More Devastating’ to SMB’s Than Fire, Flood & Transit Strike Combined,” Roger Aitken, Feb. 26, 2019.