Your employees gather personal information from customers, and your company stores this confidential information. Therefore, you are exposed to risk!
The financial services industry is exposed to increasingly complex and frequent risks. Over the past five years, financial institutions have been involved in numerous lawsuits related to data breach.
These violations have targeted confidential data of a personal and commercial nature, exposing companies, employees, business partners and their customers to potential risks.
All organizations are exposed to direct risks, such as the risk of fraud and data breach, but they are also indirectly exposed to legal and financial risks when they gather, store and use personal and confidential data.
Such an incident recently occurred in British Columbia, when cybercriminals compromised a company’s customer database. The customers and all individuals who completed online requests to obtain the services from the company received phishing e-mails. After a number of customers filed complaints, the company enlisted an investigator who identified the nature of the problem and the extent of the data breach.
The facts
Immediately after obtaining this confirmation, the company reported the incident to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner. However, the victims of the cyberattack were only notified much later. A class action was brought against the company. The plaintiffs claimed damages and referred to the findings of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner, which concluded that the company had not set up adequate security measures to protect personal and confidential data gathered from customers.
The solutions
According to specialists from the Ponemon Institute, businesses should take measures to maintain the trust of their customers in order to reduce long-term financial impacts.
To manage the incident and safeguard its own interests, a company that suffers a data breach must implement numerous measures, such as hiring experts and lawyers, protecting the identity of the victims and acquiring new security solutions. Companies must also face potential indirect losses and expenses such as the loss of existing and prospective customers and harm to their reputation due to media exposure, among others.
Research by the Ponemon Institute reveals that the bad press surrounding a data breach can have negative consequences for revenue. It can also generate abnormally high service cancellation rates and have a negative impact on the acquisition of new customers.
It is important to keep in mind that the risks incurred by financial service providers can carry heavy consequences. A serious violation could even lead a company to bankruptcy!
March is Fraud Prevention Month in Canada.
Information about APRIL Canada:
APRIL Canada is the largest independent MGA in Canada backed by worldwide expertise in providing innovative insurance solutions for your hard to place insurance risks. Our ambition is to change the image of insurance by keeping things simple. Offering different perspectives, we are specialists in niches of non-standard insurance. With over 40 highly skilled specialist underwriters, APRIL develops and offers a wide range of tailor-made products across personal and commercial lines for your clients` special risks. True to its values and commitments, customer relationships are at the heart of what we do. Teamwork and partnership between underwriters and insurance brokers are central to providing the beast solution for insured clients. A relationship that is truly built on trust enables us to provide the best possible coverage.
APRIL Canada has more than 130 employees, 4 offices Canada Wide, 45,000 Policy Holders and 2,500 Broker Partners. By choosing APRIL you can be assured of high quality advice and excellent service. We do not provide ready made products, but made to order solutions. For us, each risk is unique and deserves an in depth understanding. Drawing on these key assets- the ability to tailor products, the high level of service and driven by a strong entrepreneurial culture, a strong customer relationship is the centre of everything we do at APRIL.
To find out more about APRILs products and services click here: www.april.ca
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You can contact as on info@april.ca or 1-855-745-1010.
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