CYBER SECURITY
Cyber-attacks on Companies can result in damage not only to the Company itself in terms of its own information but also in terms of its reputation and the trust its customer places in it. The goals of any business to safe guard itself from cyber security attacks are:
To protect – that is by means of Firewalls
Detect – by means of anti-viral/intrusion detection
Correction –to recover from the breach.
The average cost of a breach in the US is $3.79 million and there were 27,000 attacks in 2014. On average it takes a business 205 days before a breach of its system is detected with 69% of Companies learning about the breach from outside its organisation.
There are many ways cyber-attacks can occur to include:-
1.Hacking - that is by means of unauthorised access
2.Malware – i.e. viruses/spyware
3.DOS (Denial of Services) attack
4.Phishing – theft of confidential information
5.Laptop and mobile device theft
6.Internal misuse of passwords.
The obligation on businesses to keep data confidential and secure arises pursuant to Legislation, Regulation, Contract and Common Law. Businesses who suffer from a cyber-attack may be vulnerable to a claim for damages where the attack was due to a company’s failure to meet their security and confidentiality requirements and a failure on their part to implement policies and procedures within their own organisations to protect information and data properly.
The draft Data Protection Regulation which is expected to become law throughout Europe in late 2017 will make reporting of breaches mandatory and will be combined with significant sanctions of up to the higher of 2% of an enterprises worldwide turnover or €1million.
Implementing a robust cyber security policy is essential for any business requiring IT, Management and Legal input.
We at BDM Boylan can help Companies and business comply with their obligations both legal and regulatory. We can advise on issues such as cyber security policy and procedure, reporting requirements in the event of a cyber-attack, and legal and regulatory requirements.
Key Contacts : Shirley Fogarty Pat Mullins
sfogarty@bdmboylan.ie pmullins@bdmboylan.ie
0214313333 0214313333