Data breaches cost more than money.

• Position: INFO SECURITY

According to a recent Journal of Accountancy article, a new report by Deloitte & Touche LLP lists 14 impact factors of a cyberattack, including seven that might not be readily apparent:

1. Higher insurance premiums: Deloitte says companies may face premium increases of 200% for the same coverage, or they may be denied coverage until they prove to the insurer that they have shored up their cyber defenses. Insurers may tell a company what to fix before coverage will be continued.

2. Increased cost to raise debt: After a data breach, a company's credit rating can be lowered, which will affect its ability to raise debt or renegotiate its existing debt, Deloitte said. Deloitte's analysis said credit ratings agencies typically downgrade by one level companies that have experienced a cyber incident.

3. Business disruption: When normal business operations are disrupted, a company suffers financially. If a company's e-commerce site must be shut down temporarily, for example, the company will lose current and possibly future business when customers move to a competitor.

4. Lost customer relationships: Customers may not return to a business that suffers a breach. Deloitte's hypothetical analysis showed that customer attrition rate increases 30% after a cyber incident and doesn't return to normal for three years.

5. Lost contract revenue: Negotiating contracts with other entities is harder after a data...