Corporate data breaches are on the serious rise. According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, the number of reported data breaches reported grew 47% in 2008 over 2007. Experts believe that situation will only grow worse in 2009.

The problem has become so widespread that the Federal Trade Commission has now mandated that the data security of all financial institutions, creditors, and other related business become more stringent by May 1, 2009. These strict new requirements are called the Red Flag Rules, which orders all these businesses to create, document, and execute exact procedures how they will respond to and prevent identity theft.

In response to these new federal regulations, The Affinion Security Center has published the Data Breach Response Guide. This free-to-download publication provides case studies, best practices, and sample written plans to deal with identity theft and data breaches, and how companies can comply with the Red Flag Rules.

The Affinion Security Center is very experienced in the field of data security. The company helps companies with data security through its BreachShield program, an all-inclusive system that includes support services, drafting of notification letters, and list management. The Affinion Security Center has recently supplemented BreachShield with CardCorps, a service that monitors chat rooms for stolen data and issues Automated Fraud Alerts for suspicious credit activities.

Tim Lukens, Senior Vice President of Corporate Solutions at Affinion Security Center, believes every company should carefully study the Data Breach Response Guide. “The Data Breach Response Guide contains valuable information on how to respond to a breach, alert customers, choose resolution services and defend a company financially and from reputational damage due to the devastating effects of data loss,” he said. “The guide comes to market at a critical time, as law enforcement develops stricter laws for companies that handle consumer data and harsher penalties for corporations that mismanage data breaches.”

The cost to business can be devastating. According to the Ponemon Institute 2009 survey, customers are likely to stop doing business with banks, health care companies and large retailers when a data breach occurs. The same study determined that more than 68% of the $6.65 million lost due to a data breach come from customer attrition.

The purpose of Affinion’s Data Breach Response Guide is to assist companies in setting up an “Incident Response Plan” to prepare for a possible data breach. The Guide also addresses how to protect a business relationship after a breach occurs. As the Affinion Security Center stresses, how fast a company responds to a security breach is of paramount importance. Not only a fast response limits the amount of data stolen or lost, but it also shapes how customers feel about a company’s safety.

Article Source: Affinion Security Center Publishes Data Breach Response Guide

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Additional news on data breaches:

• Verizon Breach Report challenges preconceived notions
• Chronicle of Data Breaches

Additional Affinion News:

• Affinion is profiled on the Forbes Largest Private Companies.
• Affinion Survey: Users Vulnerable To Tax and Employment Identity Theft
• Trilegiant secures patent for loyalty program
• Affinion Security Center Survey Finds Identity Theft Impacts Women More Than Men
• Affinion Group offering a $125 million add-on to its senior notes via Bank of America and Deutsche Bank.

Tags: affinion, data breach, federal trade commission, internet security, red flag rules