From an article in The Financial Poise:
When a business gets the call that something has gone wrong with its data, the first instinct is usually panic. Systems are slow, employees are confused, and leadership wants answers immediately. But as cybersecurity incidents become a routine part of modern business life, the difference between companies that survive and those that struggle in such situations often comes down to preparation and decision-making.
Incidents vs. Breaches: A Critical Distinction
Not every security issue is a data breach, and confusing the two can lead to costly mistakes. As J. Eduardo Campos of Embedded-Knowledge, Inc. explains, an incident is a warning sign, while a breach is the real break-in. Or to put it another way: “An incident is like someone rattling your door handle; a breach is when they actually get inside.”
An incident might include a lost password, a laptop left unlocked, or suspicious network behavior. A breach occurs when protected data is actually accessed or disclosed without authorization. This distinction matters because legal notification requirements, insurance obligations, and regulatory exposure often hinge on whether a breach truly occurred.
The Real Cost of a Data Breach
Headline numbers around data breach costs tend to focus on averages, but they rarely tell the whole story. According to a recent report by IBM, the global average cost of a data breach is $4.4 million.
However, as Alex Sharpe of Sharpe Management Consulting LLC notes, cost is only part of the picture. “These incidents don’t just create an immediate bill,” he says. “They create a long tail of disruption that can last for years, and for smaller businesses, that disruption can be existential.”
Costs often include forensic investigations, legal fees, regulatory fines, customer notification, credit monitoring, public relations efforts, and lost business. Reputational damage alone can linger long after systems are restored. For smaller and mid-sized businesses, even a short operational shutdown can be devastating.
Why Breaches Go Undetected for so Long
One of the most troubling realities is how long breaches often remain hidden. Many organizations take months to discover that something is wrong, giving attackers time to move laterally through systems and extract data.
Early warning signs are often visible but can be ignored. Unusual login times, unexplained network slowdowns, repeated system reboots, or software behaving oddly can all signal trouble. The problem is not always a lack of technology, but a lack of awareness.
“Very often, the first person to notice something is wrong is not technical at all,” observes J. Eduardo Campos. “That’s why training everyone to recognize warning signs is so important.”
Read more at The Financial Poise.
