There are inherent reasons why every company, regardless of size or industry, needs to secure their data.

You probably know already that if you’re hit with an online security breach, it’s going to end up costing you a lot of money.

But do you know exactly how much it’ll end up costing you?

Allow us to clarify: according to Verizon’s 2015 Data Breach Investigations Report, it’ll cost you an average of $150 per compromised file to recover from an online security breach. Sure, $150 is nothing… but thousands of files are compromised in the average attack, so you’re looking at the cost of a breach totaling six of even seven figures.

Regulations, Penalties and Fines, Oh my!

The Federal and State Unfair and Deceptive Practices Acts are currently interpreted by the Federal Trade Commission to mean that you’re on the hook, legally speaking, for negligence if you lose sensitive data. In other words, if you lose people’s private information, those people have the right to (and often do) get together and hit you with a class-action lawsuit that could end up costing you millions.

In addition to the six or seven-figure initial hit and the potential for class-action lawsuits, some businesses have to deal with industry-specific regulations that will pile even more expenses onto your plate.

Healthcare organizations have HIPAA to worry about, financial organizations have to always be prepared for SEC and FDIC audits, retail stores and anyone else who handles credit cards must comply with PCI DSS standards. There’s no shortage of rules you have to follow, and breaking those rules will result in some devastating penalties.

QualityIP has experience with all those verticals and more. We know how to keep you up to code so that your data remains completely secure and you’re not hit with any hefty fines.

What Kind of Business Do you Want to Be? Protect Your Reputation.

Enough about money, let’s look into another important reason why you want to comply with security standards.

You need to protect your reputation.

Who did you imagine yourself being as a business owner when you first dreamt about owning your own business? Did you want to be the guy who has it all together and is prepared for anything? Or did you want to be the guy who’s always scrambling to recover from mistakes and seems to be just barely treading water? Remember who you want to be and make it happen.

It’s important to see yourself in a positive light… but it’s even more important for current and potential partners and clients to see you in that positive light.

One easy thing you can do to establish yourself a reputation for being reliable and professional is not being the guy who’s known for compromising private customer information and being fined for it.

A security breach will result in missing opportunities; clients who might have signed with you will sign elsewhere, partners who might have worked with you will seek out relationships with businesses that aren’t a known security risk.

It’s nothing personal: they just don’t want to risk compromising their own data by connecting with someone who has been compromised before.

QualityIP will protect your data so that you can maintain your reputation and attract clients and partners instead of scaring them away.

Contact us at (330) 931-4141 or info@qualityip.com for more information about how we make sure you’re complying with all the security rules and regulations that apply to your unique situation.