Security Slideshow: How Data Breaches Can Affect Brand and Reputation

The damage experienced by a company in the wake of a data breach can have a lasting negative impact on brand equity and reputation. How lasting? An online survey of 843 executives in the U.S. conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by security technology provider Experian Data Breach Resolution shows that it takes about one year, on average, to restore an organization's reputation. In addition to the time and energy it takes to rectify the situation, a data breach has the potential to severely affect a company's brand equity over the long term, according to the report. Depending on the type of information lost as a result of the breach, the average damages to the value of the brand ranged from $184 million to more than $330 million.