Data loss costs a bundle

It doesn't matter whether you are the CIO of a big company or a small one. Losing customer data will always cost you plenty. The Ponemon Institute, an independent information practices research group, concluded that data breaches cost businesses an average of $197 per customer record in 2007, up from $182 in 2006. And when you add it all together, it comes to millions--$6.3 million in 2007, up from $4.8 million in 2006. These are not numbers to sneer at, especially if you are the CIO in charge of the ship. "In the past, there hasn't been the evidence to say that people are losing customers due to a breach," said John Dasher, director of product management for encryption technology company PGP Corporation. "I think that's changing."

There are plenty of reasons for the increased loss of data and many other reasons why customers pack up and leave after an incident. The study identified outsourcing as a major reason for breaches. The report said that breaches attributable to third-party organizations, including outsourcers, contractors, consultants and partners, were reported by 40 percent of respondents--an increase of 29 percent from 2006. Is your data safer or more threatened these days, and what are you doing about it?

For more on data leaks:
- See this Informationweek article