Following a Data Breach, a company may be fined by the ICO, but that is not necessarily the end – A company’s reputation can be left in tatters after media coverage of a data breach. Read on to find out more.

According to new polls carried out by the Information Comissioner’s office, your business could lose 80% of custom if you have had a data breach.

The poll was commissioned by the ICO to mark European Data Protection Day. It showed 20 per cent of people would definitely stop using a company’s services after hearing news of a data breach, while 57 per cent would consider stopping. Only eight per cent said the coverage would make no difference and 14 per cent said they didn’t know.

Christopher Graham, Head of the ICO, said:

“A heavy fine is bad enough, but the time, energy and money it takes to rebuild customer confidence can be as severe a punishment as the fine itself.”

Due to increased publicity about data breaches, and more individuals being affected personally by breaches by companies, the general public are more aware, and understandably, cautious, about who they trust with their information. 95% of the poll voters found it very or fairly important that their information was not shared with other companies.