Data Theft at Flayton Electronics

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Data Theft at Flayton Electronics

Introduction

Flayton electronics is a regional chain consisting of 32 stores. The chairman of the company is Mr. Brett Flayton. The company has presence in 6 states with a meek online presence. The chairman received troubling news about the data breach from the security head of the company. Ms. Laurie Benson has already informed Mr. Brett about the possible data breach. Union Century Bank, contacted Ms. Laurie, regularly monitors fraudulent patterns of account theft. The data theft is common in IT industry, and such cases are reported to authorities on a regular basis. The thieves stole email addresses, bank account information, social security numbers and credit card common. The company has recently spent a good amount of time and money in new payment card industry and enhancing data protection standards. The reason behind the data theft was identified as a disabled firewall leading to company internal data was accessed. This could have been accidental or deliberate because the system was recently installed. It could also have been closed due to maintenance work (McNulty, 2007).

The Obligation Flayton Electronics to its Customers

One of the most important obligations of a company is to preserve the privacy of its customer information. Irrespective of business, any sharing of information without the consent of the customer is considered unethical, and in some cases, it is also considered as illegal. The situation is more demanding for companies, which require personal data of customers, such as credit card information, e-mail address and other. Many companies have a mission and vision statement of serving customers and satisfying customers. Therefore, any action, which may lead to customer dissatisfaction, would breach the mission of the company and the company will eventually lose its customer base.

Just like other companies, Flayton Electronics has spent time and money on improving its security and protection of data. However, these steps have failed in protecting customer confidential data. Technology helps seller and buyers in multiple transactions; however, technology can also backfire sometimes. Most of data thieves are experts in using technology, but, often investing in technology creates a sense of ignorance and eventually appropriate steps are taken once crises occurs. Relationships are made on the basis of trust. The only reason customer come to shop at a company, is because he/she trusts the company and its products. In this case, the company is in danger of losing the trust of the customer. If this happens, the fortune of a growing company may turn on its head (Sileo, 2010).

The Communication Strategy

The communication strategy should be focused on quick acknowledgement of failure to protect customer's data. The company should first inform its customer about the accident and apologize to them. Any delay in communicating the reality may result into backlash from some customers.

Everyone, who is at risk, should be notified. A conference should be called to discuss the communication methods and strategies to counter any threat or grievance from customers. The company should also communicate ...