What are the consequences of neglecting information security?

Complete data loss leads to bankruptcy in over 50% of cases within 24 months. Other consequences include data theft, reputational damage, criminal liability, and breach of duty of care.

Key consequences:

• Bankruptcy risk: Over 50% of companies with complete data loss fail within 24 months
• Recovery time: Setting up a replacement system takes at least 36 hours if no spare is on-site
• Data theft: Goes undetected in most cases — you may not know until the data appears publicly
• Reputation damage: If confidential data becomes public, customer trust and brand image suffer immensely
• Criminal liability: Violating legal requirements can have criminal consequences
• Breach of duty of care (Sorgfaltspflicht): Management is personally liable

Tip: These are powerful arguments for convincing management to invest in security. The cost of prevention is almost always lower than the cost of recovery.