Manoj Dhingra, Director, Stellar exclusive interview published in Data Quest Magazine
'Reputational Damage due to Data Breach is Unrepairable'
Reputational damage is one, major and unrepairable damage which companies face post data breach situations
In the digital era we are living in, data is indeed the new oil. However, like every other precious resource, data too faces the threat of theft, breach and various other challenges. Whenever there have been major ransomware attacks such as WannaCry and Petya, organizations have faced catastrophic effects due to loss and corruption of data. Apart from data breach, even management of data in order to explore the resource to its full potential is a challenge that several companies are facing.
In an interview with DataQuest, Manoj Dhingra, Director, Domestic Business, Stellar Information Technology Pvt. Ltd., a company that has been catering to the needs of end-to-end data recovery, data migration, data erasure of consumers and businesses, talks about how data can benefit businesses, how companies can prevent breaches and the consequences of data breach.
Q. There is as of now a data explosion. Do organizations know how to mine the data to benefit businesses?
A. We are living in a world where its data and data everywhere and undoubtedly more data is being captured and stored by enterprises these days compared to the times it used to be years back. In just 3 years starting from end of 2014 to end of 2017, per capita data consumption in India has increased 15 times from 0.26GB to 4GB/month (source : TRAI). Per industry estimates the world has generated almost 90% of the total data on the planet, in the last two years only. But now it’s just not the capturing of data which holds the key importance it’s about using that stored data for an effective and intelligent business purpose.
Customer Acquisition and Retention in this data driven world is becoming increasingly difficult and complex. Data Mining is need of the hour for organizations looking to sustain their customer base and grow their business.
Data mining plays a critical role in today’s business IT landscape. Many organizations are meticulously working on these smart tools which are predominantly focused on digging and gathering crucial information. These insights help these organizations to closely monitor customer buying patterns, market changes and trends, setting up the best prices for different items, categorization of different products, customer behavior and performing profitability analysis.
Q. In case there is a data breach, what must organizations do to recover from the same?
A. We as a ‘data care’ company urge organizations to follow safeguard measures to ensure foolproof data security. A data breach is a worse possible thing to happen in an organization more so because it’s not just about the data loss, it is also a major loss of company’s hard earned prestige. However, if a breach occurs and there is loss of data, it’s always advisable to reach out to a certified, secure data care experts who can help in getting the sensitive data back and also maintain the data privacy.
Such critical situation entails working with ISO 9001 and ISO 27001 compliant data care organizations who have requisite expertise, experience and infrastructure to facilitate data recovery and thereby help your business get back on track at the earliest.
It is imperative for the companies to understand the root cause of data breach and then take countermeasures to avoid such instances from happening again. While allocating any legacy hardware or disposing off used or end of life(EOL) IT assets, one should ensure proper data sanitization (secure erasure) of these devices using certified and secure data erasure tools like BitRaser. This will avoid any instance of data leakage from such legacy devices and safeguard data privacy of the organization.
Q. Can organizations truly recover from a data breach? Even if they can, how serious are the ramifications?
A. With respect to data breach on account of data loss; if the organization is following proper data security measures and also with help of established data care provider it is possible for them to recover the lost data and retain business continuity. Really unsure if companies ever, fully recover on other aspects and if they actually do, the journey would not be less than ‘a road full of thorns and spikes’. Certainly, reputational damage is one, major and ‘unrepairable’ damage which companies face post data breach situations. It’s a breach of trust with consumers, investors and shareholders that inflicts long term unrepairable damage to the affected organization. Secondly, adverse financial implications which companies have to bear in form of business loss, litigation, security fines and penalties.
