Data breach incidents 'tarnish reputations'

2009-08-12

Reputations can be harmed by data breach incidents and it is key that firms recognise the importance of dealing with them in public, it has been claimed.

A company's public reaction to a data breach is just as important as what it does internally following such an IT intrusion, according to David Neal, writing for IT Pro.

He said that companies need to explain what has happened, what the consequences are and what affected parties should do.

Jay Heiser from the analyst body Gartner told IT Pro that firms should be prepared for data loss.

"The most effective levels of control require a combination of human attention and security automation," Mr Heiser commented, adding that implementing these measures can help avoid embarrassment.

In recent developments, Twitter has been hit by another IT attack which has led to downtime and the firm is reviewing traffic data to determine the nature of the intrusion.

Read more security news.