Even though major retailers like Target and Home Depot made the most headlines in the past year because of data breaches, companies of all sizes face similar dangers. Overall, 43 percent of U.S. businesses suffered at least one cyber security incident this year, up 10 percent from 2013, according to a study from the Ponemon Institute, which conducts independent research on privacy, data protection and information security policy, and Experian Data Breach Resolution.These incidents have data security in U.S. businesses at an all-time high. Nearly three-quarters of the businesses surveyed now have a data breach response plan in place, up 12 percent from last year. Additionally, 48 percent of organizations have increased their investment in security technologies in the past 12 months. Since employee errors are a frequent cause of data breaches, more and more businesses provide their staffs with data security training. The study discovered that 54 percent of companies have privacy and data-protection awareness training for employees and other stakeholders, up 10 percentage points from 2013.
