What are the potential consequences of neglecting information security?

Complete data loss leads to bankruptcy in over 50% of cases within 24 months — plus legal liability, reputational damage, and criminal consequences.

Key consequences:

• Bankruptcy risk — Over 50% of companies that suffer complete data loss go bankrupt within 24 months
• Recovery time — Setting up a replacement system takes at least 36 hours (if no standby system is available on-site)
• Data theft — Often goes undetected; you may never know your data was stolen
• Reputational damage — If confidential data becomes public, customer trust and brand image suffer enormously
• Legal consequences — Violating legal requirements (e.g., data protection laws) can result in criminal prosecution
• Breach of duty of care — Management can be held personally liable

Key takeaway: The cost of doing nothing always exceeds the cost of implementing reasonable security measures. This is the core argument for getting management buy-in.