Being proactive about protecting your company’s confidential information can go a long way in terms of cost savings. Many companies significantly underestimate what a data breach would really cost, but a recent Ponemon Institute study shows that, on average, a breach will cost $6.75 million dollars. This estimate includes the costs of mandatory notification, post-breach credit monitoring services for victims, legal fees, fines, and the costs associated with disruption to legal and IT staffs during the breach.

Overwhelmingly, data breaches aren’t caused by malicious outside forces, rather they are the result of process deficiencies and the resulting mishandling of information internally. Preventing a data breach is simply a matter of companies taking inexpensive, proactive steps to create and maintain a confidential information inventory, understanding what processes and people handle confidential information, and regularly conducting threat assessments. A small investment in securing confidential information will net a great return- an average return of $6.75 million to be precise.