How well prepared are you for a data breach?

• Position: INFORMATION SECURITY

According to a recent study by the Ponemon Institute and Experian Data Breach Resolution, 52% of U.S. companies have experienced more than one data breach in the past two years.

If your company is like the overwhelming majority of those that responded to the study, there's a great deal you can do to be better prepared for a data breach. For example, do you require employees' mobile devices (including smartphones and tablets) to be tested for security purposes before connecting to the company's systems? The Ponemon study found that although 78% of companies allowed employees to bring their own devices to work, one-third don't require they be tested; another 28% are not sure if they have such a requirement.

Nearly half (44%) of the respondents said their organization effectively authenticates and otherwise ensures appropriate access to their information systems. Only 43% said their organization promptly changes network access rights when an employee leaves the company. This becomes even more alarming when only one-third of companies are actively monitoring for unusual traffic and other risk indicators.

Following a breach, most organizations could improve how well they communicate the incident to their customers. Just 30% of companies actually train their customer service representatives on how to answer questions about a breach.

"Based on the findings of this research, many organizations are losing opportunities to reduce the risk of negative opinion and loss of customer trust by not focusing on communications with victims," the survey report concluded.

Clearly there is a lot of room for improvement in the majority of U.S. companies. A good place to start, according to Corporate Counsel, is by addressing many of the gaps highlighted here.

Cyber-liability insurance may be advisable as well, especially for smaller companies. Symantec reported in April that cyber attacks on businesses with fewer than 250 employees increased 31% in 2012 following an 18% increase in 2011. This is testament to the reality that small businesses typically don't have...