Data Breaches: The Brand Impact

Up to $223b of the World’s Top 100 Brands’ Value could be at risk from a Data Breach, finds Infosys-Interbrand Study.

In a world where technology has gotten weaved into every facet of our lives, we find ourselves living in a data-rich society. And this has made cybersecurity a part of our everyday lexicon, driving our choice in our association with brands.

For brands, this means data security has become a critical aspect of their businesses. This has a direct implication on the ‘trust’ that customers have on a brand. This in turn has a huge influence on customer engagement and affinity with the brand.

Most studies on data breaches tend to focus on the immediate costs to businesses – drop in profits or loss in revenues. However, the real impact on businesses could run much deeper as breaches can affect the long-term relationship between the customers and the brand.

In the endeavor to gauge this real impact, Infosys partnered with Interbrand to understand the impact of a breach on the brand’s relative strength. The study involved extensive desk research, discussions with security experts, along with a poll amongst Interbrand’s Brand Valuation Experts from across 15 countries.

The report serves as a guide for businesses to understand their brand’s ‘value at risk’ in the event of a cybersecurity breach and offers insights into implementing a well-defined cybersecurity strategy to maintain constant vigil and protect applications, data, networks and systems from the ever-present cyberthreat landscape.