Dixons Carphone data leak hits ‘mega breach’ proportions – Egress Software CEO Tony Pepper Comments

Egress Software CEO Tony Pepper reacts to Dixons Carphone breach

“This morning Dixons Carphone has admitted that the huge data breach first reported in June was in fact more wide reaching than initially thought. Now reporting that 10 million records with personal data were affected, the data breach clearly enters ‘mega breach’ parameters, (mega breaches range from 1 million to 50 million records lost). Using figures from Ponemon Institute’s ‘Cost of a Data Breach’ study, these types of breaches are projected to cost companies between $40 million and $350 million respectively.

Whilst there is often a lot of speculation about the fine these highly publicised data breaches will receive from regulatory bodies like the ICO, what is often not initially considered are the ‘hidden’ expenses, such as reputational damage, customer turnover, and operational costs.

Although we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that that Dixons Carphone is reacting yet again in a proactive manner by contacting affected data subjects and advising them on steps that can be taken to minimise the risk of fraud, it cannot be understated how damaging this could be from a brand and reputational standpoint. “

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Article Link: http://digitalforensicsmagazine.com/blogs/?p=2489