Companies see personal data breach as biggest threat by Elise Viebeck

The exposure of personal information is the most frightening cybersecurity threat to private companies, according to a survey released this week. 

Executives and corporate counsel in 15 industrial sectors said they are most concerned about a personal data breach (63 percent), followed by an interruption of business operations by a cyberattack (24 percent). 
Less than 10 percent said the theft of trade secrets was the most serious threat to their business. 

The survey suggests that despite the rising incidence of personal data breaches, companies still see them as dangerous to their reputations and bottom lines. 

At the same time, only a handful of companies said they have a cyber insurance policy for liability (27 percent), while an even smaller number have coverage for remediation costs (7 percent). Twenty-eight percent said they might consider cyber insurance in the next 12 months or later on. 

Firms were not confident that they will see national liability protections for threat-sharing any time soon, despite Congress’s continued work on the issue. 

Only 30 percent said they expected such a policy to be finalized in the next five years, compared to 84 percent who believe national data breach notification standards will be established in that time. 

The survey, released Wednesday, was conducted by global law firm Mayer Brown between November 2014 and February 2015. Most respondents were from the financial, professional service, utility and healthcare sectors.

Source:https://thehill.com/policy/cybersecurity/238463-companies-see-personal-data-breach-as-biggest-threat