Basic Steps To Protect Your Co. Against Cyber Perils

According to a 2010 study, companies in the hospitality industry are the no. 1 targets for computer hackers and other thieves of electronic data — with 38 percent of all credit card hacking cases occurring in the hotel industry.These crimes are not perpetrated only by faraway hackers either. All too often, rogue criminal employees use swipe card skimmers to steal credit card numbers and related data from guests. The risk of losing guests’ private data is critical and needs to be managed carefully.According to another recent survey, about 30 percent of corporate general counsel believe their companies are unprepared to deal with a serious data breach. That’s an eye-opening figure that should cause in-house lawyers and risk managers to stop and think about their own company’s preparedness for such issues.While data security presents daunting challenges for most, there are basic steps that you can pursue to protect your company against the worst cyber perils. A smart blend of careful contracting, insurance coverage, due diligence and follow-up with employees can assist greatly in reducing the risks associated with data security breaches.