Security Consequences

Everyone says "security is the most important thing," but what are the real consequences of getting it wrong?

Sometimes companies get away with sloppy security... and sometimes they don't. When things go wrong, the consequences extend far beyond the engineering resources spent to fix the vulnerable code. For example:

• A SQL injection exposes 10,000 email addresses and order histories.
  • Your engineering team investigates the breach and closes the vulnerability.
  • Your legal and privacy teams determine whether affected users or regulators must be notified.
  • Your customer support team handles a flood of worried users.
  • Your company loses customer trust and future sales.
• An XSS bug lets an attacker run code in users' browsers. The attacker may steal sensitive data or act as those users.
  • Your security team investigates which accounts were affected and cuts off the attacker's access.
  • Your support team helps users restore control of their accounts.

A small vulnerability can create technical, legal, operational, and financial damage. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.