Equifax is living out a nightmare that illustrates what can happen to a business when it drops the ball on cybersecurity. Following an internal security breach in September that exposed the data of more than 143 million Americans to hackers, the company’s public image took a significant nosedive. In fact, its Buzz score dropped a record 33 points in 10 days, worse than any other brand has experienced following a similar attack.

Furthermore, surveys indicate more than half of all Americans believe Equifax should shut its doors, while the city of San Francisco has already filed a lawsuit against the consumer credit reporting agency. In the meantime, Congress is investigating the company, whose CEO has since resigned amid the fallout.

The woes of Equifax underscore how devastating a cybersecurity attack can be to a brand’s reputation. Here are three reasons why it’s essential to implement effective cybersecurity measures in order to deliver a favorable customer experience and maintain brand loyalty.

1. Consumer Confidence

Maintaining consumer confidence is one of the main reasons investing in cybersecurity is so important. After all, when customers aren’t confident about giving up their personal and financial information, your business is effectively dead. Case in point: An estimated 76 percent of consumers say they would take their business elsewhere when a company is found to have engaged in negligent data practices.

But it’s not all bad news. Conversely, when customers know your business takes strong measures to protect their identities and security, their confidence increases. For example, 91 percent of consumers say they prefer doing business with an online service provider that makes security visible to them, according to the RSA 2017 Consumer Cybersecurity Confidence Index. For example, when they see you have an ISO 27001 certification, or you display a security trustmark prominently on your website, they know their best interests are being looked after. These provide peace of mind to customers and can increase their loyalty towards your brand.

For businesses looking to build internal cybersecurity expertise, having team members pursue recognized certifications such as CompTIA Security+ or CISSP is a strong starting point, and platforms like Exam Collection offer the practice materials needed to prepare thoroughly for these exams and get certified with confidence.

Still, one of the most visible security measures you can take is adopting HTTPS for your website, which is indicated by the “https://” prefix in your URL and signals to search engines and your customers that you prioritize security. Beyond that, advising customers how you will use their data, alerting them when you plan to share said data with a third party, and reminding or requiring customers to use strong passwords are other ways to build consumer confidence.

Access control measures are also important. Methods such as user authentication, authorization rules, access control lists, and encryption ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data while preventing unauthorized access. Multi-factor authentication, least privilege access, network segmentation, and strict password policies strengthen access controls to enhance cybersecurity.

Furthermore, the FCC recommends several additional measures to protect critical business data. In an age of widespread ransomware, one of the most crucial measures your business can take is to regularly run automated backups of vital data to prevent security breaches. Experts point to using a cloud backup service that employs military-grade encryption.

Best of all? These services can help you quickly recover customer data if a breach occurs, allowing your company to avoid publicizing that customer information has been lost or compromised. Talk about a potential PR nightmare that can be avoided altogether.

2. Customer Satisfaction

Cybersecurity can also affect customer satisfaction. Indeed, how well your security measures promote consumer confidence largely depends on how much effort you put into balancing security and usability. For example, if your e-commerce site’s authentication process becomes too complex, customers will become frustrated and choose to do business elsewhere.

Thus, instituting an authentication process that customers find straightforward can generate 10 percent to 20 percent more sales on your e-commerce site than one they find more difficult to navigate, according to McKinsey. However, failure to implement authentication protocols can ultimately undermine consumer confidence.

But one way to balance security and usability is to tailor security options to user preferences. For instance, allow your e-commerce site to ask customers whether they want their personal and/or financial information to be remembered each time they visit. Additionally, you can ask customers whether they want your internal systems (i.e., cookies) to determine which devices they use when accessing your site.

Ultimately, this will give your customers more control over how they’d like to protect their information

3. Brand Reputation

As Equifax’s case illustrates, maintaining a dependable cybersecurity presence directly impacts your brand’s reputation. Of course, experiencing poor customer service and support after a cybersecurity breach can spread like wildfire, ultimately impacting referrals, generating negative publicity, and potentially prompting legal and regulatory action.

To maintain your brand reputation in the wake of a security breach, companies must demonstrate resiliency against future attacks. Ultimately, whether they like it or not, all companies should assume they will one day be the target of a cyberattack. With that in mind, develop a cybersecurity strategy that includes recovery steps to take in the event of a breach.

In the end, acting proactively in response to a cyberattack will help preserve your brand’s reputation by letting your customers know you’re taking steps to protect them.

Based on the article from Brandignity, here are 10 highly relevant FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) with answers derived directly from the post’s insights. These are ideal for a resources section, social media snippets, or expanding on the topic:

1. What does cybersecurity have to do with customer experience?

Answer: Everything. If a customer doesn’t feel confident that their personal and financial information is safe with you, they won’t do business with you. Cybersecurity is the foundation of consumer trust, brand loyalty, and overall customer satisfaction.

2. How can a data breach impact my brand’s public reputation?

Answer: A cyberattack can cause a massive, immediate nosedive in your public image and brand sentiment. For example, following a major security breach, credit reporting agency Equifax saw its public perception buzz score drop a record 33 points in just 10 days, eventually leading to lawsuits, congressional investigations, and the resignation of its CEO.

3. Will customers really leave my business if they think my data security is weak?

Answer: Yes. Statistics show that an estimated 76% of consumers will take their business elsewhere if they find out a company has engaged in negligent or loose data practices.

4. What are some highly visible ways to show customers my website is secure?

Answer: You can visibly build consumer confidence by:

• Adopting HTTPS authentication so a secure lock icon shows in your website’s URL.
• Prominently displaying recognized security trustmarks.
• Achieving and showcasing security compliance certifications, such as ISO 27001.

5. What are basic access control measures I should implement?

Answer: To ensure that only authorized users can access sensitive data, businesses should use user authentication, strict authorization rules, access control lists, and strong encryption. You can further strengthen these by enforcing multi-factor authentication (MFA), least-privilege access, network segmentation, and strict password policies.

6. Can security measures actually hurt my e-commerce sales?

Answer: They can if they ruin the user experience. If your website’s authentication or checkout security process becomes too complex and frustrating, customers will abandon their carts. Balancing tight security with simple usability is crucial for customer satisfaction.

7. How does a straightforward checkout authentication process impact revenue?

Answer: According to McKinsey data, implementing an authentication process that customers find straightforward and user-friendly can generate 10% to 20% more sales on an e-commerce site than on platforms that are difficult to navigate.

8. How can I balance website security with user preference?

Answer: Give your users control over their data footprint. For instance, allow them to choose whether they want your e-commerce site to “remember” their personal/financial information for next time, or ask if they are comfortable letting your internal cookies identify the specific devices they use to access your site.

9. What is the FCC’s recommendation for preventing devastating ransomware attacks?

Answer: The FCC recommends running regular, automated backups of vital company data. Security experts recommend using cloud backup services that employ military-grade encryption to protect the integrity of those backups.

10. How do automated data backups protect my company from a PR nightmare?

Answer: If a breach or ransomware attack occurs, having encrypted, automated cloud backups allows your business to quickly recover customer data. Fast data recovery can minimize operational downtime and help you avoid a massive public relations disaster in which customer information is permanently lost or corrupted.