Yahoo discloses 2nd data breach, this time it affects 1 billion accounts

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Yahoo is having a really bad year and it just got worse with a 2nd data breach just announced. The company has confirmed that this latest data breach (which happened in 2013) affects one billion Yahoo users. That is massive. Verizon is set to buy the struggling search company but who knows what kind of damage this latest data breach will do to the Yahoo brand. The previous data breach affected 500 million accounts, this breach doubles that to 1 billion and at this point, we wouldn’t be surprised to see Yahoo users jumping ship. Just how long will it take for consumers to trust Yahoo again?

Alertsec, a laptop encryption company, received these findings from their recent Brand Perception Study. The survey reveals that Americans have significant concerns about data breaches and are slow to forgive companies – even when they are not directly affected.

Alertsec‘s brand value research demonstrates just how difficult it will be for Yahoo’s brand to recover from this breach,” said Ebba Blitz, CEO of encryption provider Alertsec. “Customers who are affected by data breaches suffer a significant loss of trust, and this is particularly true of men. According to our study, nearly one in three Americans said it would take them several months to begin trusting a company like Yahoo again following a data breach. Twenty-two percent said it would only take them a month to forgive, but 17 percent of men and 11 percent of women said their trust would be permanently lost. Men are also more likely to switch to a competitor following a data breach than are women.”

Palo Alto, CA – Alertsec, the cloud-based encryption company, today released findings from their recent Brand Perception Study that reveal significant concern about data breaches. The study, fielded among 1,200 Americans, determined that data breaches “unsettle” American consumers and result in negative brand perception.

Forgive and forget? Probably not
Customers who are affected by data breaches suffer a significant loss of trust, and this is particularly true of men. According to the survey results, nearly one in three Americans (29 percent) said it would take them several months to begin trusting a company again following a data breach. Twenty-two percent said it would only take them a month to forgive, but 17 percent of men and 11 percent of women said their trust would be permanently lost. Men (16 percent) are also more likely to switch to a competitor following a data breach than are women (6 percent).

“This is no surprise to me,” said Ebba Blitz, CEO of Alertsec. “People’s personal information is, in many ways, the key to their financial and psychological well-being. When a company has allowed their customers’ data to fall into the hands of criminals, the resulting lack of trust is difficult to repair.”

In terms of brand perception, when a company suffers a data breach, 35 percent of the respondents said this reflects sloppiness, 32 percent said it reflects a lack of professionalism, and 26 percent said it makes the company a target for lawsuits.

Data breaches unsettle
Ninety-seven percent of those surveyed said a data breach affects them in some way, even if they have no direct affiliation to the company whose data has been breached.

When Americans learn a company has had a data breach, 67 percent check to see if their information or identity has been compromised, and 35 percent worry about their information, even if they are not directly connected to the company. Twenty-nine percent said data breaches prompt them to focus on improving their own online security.

Only three percent of Americans reported feeling unfazed by data breaches.

Men generally have a stronger reaction to data breaches than do women:

data breach

When asked which actions companies should take after suffering a data breach, 81 percent of those surveyed said the company must tell everyone affected, and 72 percent suggested the company immediately invest in new encryption technology.

What do you think of this latest Yahoo security breach? Do you think Yahoo may not be disclosing everything just yet? Let us know your thoughts and comments below or on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

[button link=”http://www.reuters.com/article/us-yahoo-cyber-idUSKBN1432WZ” icon=”fa-external-link” side=”left” target=”blank” color=”285b5e” textcolor=”ffffff”]Source: Reuters[/button]

Last Updated on January 23, 2017.

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