Users Pick Up the Tab for Data Breaches

Paying for the after effects of data theft currently falls to those hurt most; the victims. As if the price of having their personal information hacked isn’t enough, users must then pay fees to rectify their damaged accounts. It’s a very expensive prospect. Forking over late and other administrative fees to other business accounts is staggering when a breach affects those other accounts too; which is often the case.

Data breaches involving identity theft of customer information is becoming a very big problem for the breached business. Questionable efforts by businesses to placate their victims are surfacing. Many of the hacked companies now offer their clients “free” credit monitoring. The concept makes users feel better about their information security, but it doesn’t pass the smell test. The monitoring doesn’t actually protect user information, and most times users don’t know there’s been a personal data breach even after the fact. However, the services merely alert users when something is questionable. There are some services that will help you resolve issues around identity theft, these may be more expensive, but certainly worth the cost.

Real ways for companies to protect their customers are beginning to show up. These suggestions are slowly coming to fruition, but can vary greatly from state to state and include:

• Reimbursement for identity theft. Compensation for time and money spent by the customer to straighten out the ensuing credit snarl they face.

• Financial liability for a data breach falling squarely on the business. Not adequately protecting consumer information from hackers becomes a core responsibility for businesses holding that information.

• Providing necessary credit freezing fees for users to avoid less identity damage may also be provided by breached companies. Freezing and unfreezing information once it’s been stolen is something the victim usually pays for at the current time.

There’s much being discussed to help victims with the financial fallout of identity theft. New solutions continue to pop up, with some suggesting more government intervention is needed. No one knows if placing the financial onus on the company will result in more data security. What victims do know is that for the moment, the breach bill is theirs alone to pay.