How to Use Data Encryption to Secure Mobile Business Data

Business case for data protection and ROI

Because data security has become a strategic issue, companies looking to bolster their defenses need to evaluate the business justification for data encryption. Are the initial costs and ongoing maintenance fees for data security solutions worth the benefits?

In a recent study, the average cost of a data breach is $6.65 million. It was also reported in a separate study that 73 percent of company respondents said they experienced a data breach in the past two years. To be conservative, assume that a company will suffer a data breach every three years. So divide $6.65 million by three to come up with an average annual data-breach cost of $2.16 million—or $540,000 per quarter. Bigger companies with lots of devices and data to protect would have greater exposure. Smaller companies might have less.

From here, take a mythical company of 10,000 seats and outfit those seats with data encryption software, figuring the cost conservatively at $100 per seat. The purchase price for that allotment would be $1 million, with an annual maintenance fee of $180,000—putting the total at $1.18 million. With the cost of the data breach being $2.16 million, and software coming in at roughly just under a million dollars less than the data breach, it is easy to see that the software pays for itself within one year.

Conclusion

The deck is stacked against businesses in terms of data security. With the many different types of devices on the market, the number of opportunities for those devices to be hacked, lost or stolen greatly increases. And as mobile devices become sleeker, faster and easier to use, they'll continue to be in high demand. Businesses will leverage these devices as the way to more readily do business.

In order to ensure an organization's data remains protected, it is a priority to secure it through the most up-to-date and stringent means available. Data encryption is the most cost-effective and secure form of data protection that ensures data integrity—inside the four walls and out.

Kurt Lennartsson is the Chief Technology Officer at Mobile Armor. Kurt's more than 20 years of experience in the security industry has involved directing, architecting and developing software and hardware for computer security and large scale systems (both Web and mobile). Kurt is the co-inventor of more than 10 patent applications in the security field. Some of the strengths Kurt's extensive security industry background brings to Mobile Armor include significant experience in mobile device encryption systems, PKI firewalls, intrusion detection/prevention systems, smart cards and AAA authentication systems. Kurt also headed several government-mandated security certification projects for both FIPS 140 and Common Criteria (EAL4). He can be reached at klennartsson@mobilearmor.com.