Dive Brief:

• A new study found companies are not paying as close attention to data privacy as they should.
• The study, by the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and Bloomberg BNA, found there is generally a lag in how companies are approaching their data privacy and data security programs.
• Most respondents identified brand impact as a bigger concern than data breach.

Dive Insight:

Respondents to the study, "Assessing and Mitigating Privacy Risk Starts at the Top" identified leadership buy-in, corporate training and education, IT resources and IT ability as factors crucial in addressing data privacy.

Brian Kudowitz, commercial product director for privacy and data security at Bloomberg BNA, said leadership buy-in is the key, because if the boss is not on board then the business will have a hard time getting privacy projects funded.

There is also debate over whether storing corporate data in the cloud improves data security. Kudowitz warned that "Cloud creates further risk exposure. Many measures taken, while they offer a solution, also create opportunities for other issues to arise,” he said.

Many of the respondents said brand was more important to them than a data breach.

"Brand holds a lot of value," Kudowitz said. “Companies spend years, if not decades, building up a brand. If customers associate the brand with a bad experience arising from a data breach, they would probably avoid the store or the good that brand represents.”