Feeling The Heat

Finally, after all of our consumer pain, companies are feeling the heat.  From being forced to pay massive settlements to entire C-Suites being fired, corporations are starting to experience the same digital misery most consumers have faced for years.

To be clear, the hacks are nothing new, just the pain.  In past conversation after past conversation, companies willingly agreed that they were constantly exploited, consumer data was lost and yet they did not care.  Up until this year, the losses could be folded into the cost column, covered up with increased prices to consumers and essentially ignored.

To be clear, these companies felt that hitting the same consumers that just got whacked by hackers with additional costs was just fine.

It was not as if their jobs or net profit were being impacted.

Is It Enough?

Now, these same people that callously ignored hackers to preserve profits are being directly impacted.  Staggering losses are being felt in huge companies and nobody is safe from the repercussions.

While that sounds great, is it enough?  In the EU, new regulations are forcing companies to scramble to put together actual plans to protect consumer information.  In The U.S….?

Crickets and tumbleweeds.

There still is no concerted effort to properly organize and regulate enterprise cybersecurity despite presidential decrees.  There is still a complete lack of focus on connected devices that both fall outside of the traditional enterprise and dwarf the number of devices with any protection.  There are large numbers of people freaking out but nobody is doing anything.

While I am not a big proponent of governments forcing companies into action, something has to change.  If the top dogs having their jobs threatened and investors losing significant money is not sufficient, then what other option is there?

Companies are finally feeling the intense despair felt by consumers for the past 5 years.

Will it be enough and will it be enough soon enough to make a difference?