Let Me Protect Your Business Against Data Breach

With the trend toward paperless data filing, nearly all companies and healthcare practices that handle or store any personally identifiable information, customer and patient OR employee data are at risk for a data breach. The possibility is especially high for businesses that routinely deal with credit cards, online orders, patient medical records, Social Security numbers and other sensitive information. 

Interesting Facts About Data Breach

• Data Breach is the fastest growing crime in America
• The average cost to mitigate damages is approximately $120-$300 per compromised record!
• Public relations costs to help in recovery from this type of crime are rarely considered until after the fact
• Customers and employees may require ongoing credit monitoring as peace of mind that they are safe
• A notification mailing will be required
• A breach can cause an interruption in business, the requirement to assess liability, obtain legal defense, potential monetary settlements, and a need for crisis management
• Because data breach occurrences are becoming more common, there are now regulatory requirements that need to be satisfied when a breach occurs. The cost to satisfy these requirements can be significant to any business owner. The Hartford feels so strongly about the small business owner’s responsibility to their employees and customers, that they have developed data breach coverage like no other I have seen so far. For those business owners who take their employee and customer relationships seriously, you may be interested in the coverage that The Hartford offers. If your line of business is within The Hartford’s underwriting appetite, with their Data Breach coverage you could have: • The peace of mind of knowing you have the insurance coverage needed to help pay for certain response expenses necessary to comply with notification regulations and to help avoid potential lawsuits that might be brought against you as the result of a breach; and • The confidence that services are available to help mitigate any damage to your business’ reputation and help quickly restore any loss of customer, patient or employee trust.

Should you be thinking about Data Breach coverage for your business? If you store employee’s and/or customer’s personal information the answer is YES!

Data breach takes toll on Target profit...

http://usat.ly/1fqFjRF

Tough as the holiday season was for many retailers, Wednesday's fourth-quarter earnings report proves that few had it tougher than Target, which was bedeviled during the peak shopping season by one of the largest-ever retail data breaches
That breach cost the company $61 million in the fourth quarter — $17 million in net expenses, and counting a $44 million insurance receivable. That includes paying the card networks to cover losses and expenses related to reissuing cards, lawsuits, government investigations and enforcement proceedings.
Target says it doesn't yet have an estimate of the full cost of the breach. Avivah Litan, a security analyst at technology firm Gartner, puts the costs of the breach between $400 million and $450 million.
The rest of the company's long-awaited fourth-quarter results tell a tale of woe: Net income fell 46% to $520 million, or 81 cents a share, from $961 million, or $1.47, a year earlier, the Minneapolis-based company reported.
At the same time, the discount retailer said that sales fell 5.3%, as many customers were leery about shopping after the breach. Revenue at stores open at least a year fell 2.5%.

New Cards, New Look, New Year!