Data Breach Costs Desjardins Hefty $53m

By Tom Jowitt for Silicon UK
Tuesday, August 13, 2019

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Data breach that exposed personal information of 2.9 million members costs Canadian financial firm millions

Rising costs

And at least one security expert has warned that organisations will likely face rising costs associated with any data breach in the coming years, and many would consider some form of cyber insurance policies.

“Unfortunately, it seems that the amount is merely a harbinger of much higher financial losses and spiraling spending that will likely last for years,” warned Ilia Kolochenko, founder and CEO of web security company ImmuniWeb.

“Most businesses foreseeably downplay data breach losses, omitting vital components of the inflicted damages in their calculations,” said Kolochenko.

“Individual and collective lawsuits initiated by the victims, even if settled with comparatively scanty compensation afterwards, usually end years after the breach,” he added. “Penalties and regulatory fines imposed by the governments, often in different countries thereby aggravating the costs, likewise are not of an immediate nature.”

“Last but not least, the ongoing reputational damage and loss of business is frequently incremental but somewhat imperceptible,” said Kolochenko. “Most customers and partners won’t resign their contracts with a hacked company immediately after the incident for a diversity of practical reasons, though they will undoubtably have less intention of renewing their contracts afterwards.”

“Cybersecurity insurance may be an explorable avenue to handle, often inevitable, data breaches with less costs,” he concluded. “However, given the emerging nature of this market, it’s a slippery slope and insurance contracts shall be meticulously revised by a trusted law firm and cybersecurity experts for mushrooming exceptions and waivers.” Read Full Article