According to a recent report by Yahoo Finance, Canadian businesses are not focusing enough on data protection by investing in security. The Yahoo article based on the Shred-it Data Protection reports that companies think they are improving their security of sensitive information but in fact many consumers feel that companies are not taking security seriously. Furthermore, many companies underestimate the consequences of a data breach with almost half of companies surveyed thinking data breaches are not a big deal.
The Shred-it survey also highlights how companies may be in fact putting themselves at increased risk for data breaches by not taking appropriate steps to safeguard their customer’s data. For instance, while employers report they trust their employees “completely” with sensitive customer data, recent data breaches reveal these employees are often the cause of the data breach.
Yahoo also reported that Canadian business leaders do believe that one data breach can lead to major fallout and that many Canadian businesses are not taking enough steps to safeguard customer data. This is particularly concerning because the Shred-It study shows that among Millennials, a growing part of the consumer market, the majority are concerned about their private and personal information and are consequently less forgiving when data breaches occur.
The report offers different ways companies can safeguard data including by having employees trained and can be downloaded for more information. The shred it reports included 1000 Canadian business owners and 100 C-Suite Executives in Canada. The survey also included over 2000 individuals from the general population.