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EDITOR’S QUESTION
PAUL FARRINGTON,
EMEA CTO AT VERACODE
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R
eputation is an immeasurable asset to
any company. A survey by Gemalto of
10,000 individuals found 70% would
stop doing business with a company that had
experienced a data breach. Not only does it
increase sales and aid with employee retention,
it also impacts a company’s valuation and
plays a vital role in the level of customer trust
created through a brand’s identity.
A data breach can represent a critical failure
of trust among investors, employees, partners
and customers. With approximately 30%
of all breaches occurring as a result of a
vulnerability at the application layer, software
purchasers are demanding more insight into
the security of the software they are buying.
As cyberattacks increase, there remains
a lack of training on secure coding that
can help companies mitigate against
vulnerabilities that can lead to breaches. We
also need to educate companies on how
they can reduce their security debt and that
they are within their rights to demand the
security of software they are interested in
purchasing. After all, the software supply
chain in use at any company represents
significant risk.
www.intelligentcio.com
Although cybersecurity incidents make
headlines daily, companies still aren’t
doing enough to act on vulnerabilities that
could be detrimental to their reputation.
Only 58% of businesses have taken action
towards implementing five or more of the
government’s 10 Steps to Cyber Security. In a
GDPR world in which the average business is
aware of data security best practices and look
to partner with businesses they trust to help
them prevent attacks, it is vital companies
have the ability to demonstrate verifiable
processes they take to secure their software.
According to a report by Bitglass that
analysed the top three breaches of the
past three years, publicly traded companies
suffered an average drop of 7.5% in their
stock values and a mean market cap loss of
US$5.4 billion per company. In addition, it
reportedly took 46 days, on average, for those
stock prices to return to their pre-breach levels.
To date, the stock price of Equifax has not yet
recovered from its breach.
No matter how sophisticated your security
posture is, everyday cybercriminals find new
ways to launch attacks. Companies need
to be prepared to act when a breach does
occur by following best practices, including
taking steps to make their code as secure
as possible. The way a business proactively
prepares to prevent a data breach directly
impacts the reputation of a company, not
only in the eyes of the customer, but also
prospective customers and even employees.
INTELLIGENTCIO
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