What to do when electronic payments go wrong

Data breaches and identity theft have become far more prevalent throughout the past several years, especially as more companies begin to use automated, electronic payments such as ACH cards. While setting up strong defenses is crucial in the modern enterprise landscape, including security software and stringent oversight protocols for accounts payable and receivable, the response is also important to avoid major issues.

Notification laws continue to become more stringent, as regulators have viewed long term data breaches that consumers and businesses have not been made aware of as the most dangerous. While no corporate executive will ever want to be in the position of the data breach victim, outlining clear guidance for response and notification following the attack could help prevent a bad problem from becoming devastating.

Best practices of response

Corporate Counsel recently explained some of the most crucial steps companies need to take following a data breach, asserting that most businesses will likely experience information loss some time in the future. Data breach statistics have shown that while the number of attacks remains at record highs year-in and year-out, the damages accrued have lessened.

Preparation, especially when it comes to identification and response, is likely to thank for the less devastating incurred losses from each attack. According to the news provider, once an instance of data loss has been discovered, the first action to take is to notify all customers who have been, or might have been, affected. Though sometimes it will only be a few people, a massive breach of infrastructure could mean that all clients' information has been compromised.

This is why notifying everyone who has data stored in the associated system is the safest bet, especially in light of more stringent regulations. The source added that employees should understand how to communicate with clients in these instances and have the answers to common questions, such as what the customer needs to do, ready for swift delivery.

Corporate Counsel added that the firm should always keep communication open with affected customers to begin repairing the damaged reputation.

Other considerations for electronic breaches
When a company has a variety of electronic payment accounts set up, it is all the more important to keep strong oversight directly on top of accounts payable and receivable. Trusted members of staff should be in charge of regularly reviewing all automated transactions, as well as manual ones, to identify irregularities and potential threats in real time.