At the
extreme level, the consequences of data loss can be catastrophic
both for the business and the directors or partners
a) It
can prove impossible to continue trading, or trading drops to an
unsustainable level as client details (e.g,. Act backup) are lost,
orders in the system are lost, there is no record of sales made
an monies due cannot be collected
b) Contract
details are lost, leaving the organisation totally exposed.
c) Tax
records cannot be produced
d) Personnel
records no longer exist
These
and other similar issues could mean that the Data Protection Act
has been contravened. This lays the principals open to prosecution.
Furthermore shareholders and possibly personnel can sue the directors/partners
as a result of losses sustained as a result of failure of their
duty to care. Even smaller losses of a few key files can cost tens
of thousands of pounds to recreate and additional business is lost
on the time taken to do so.
