However, newer data from Comparitech shows a slightly different story that organizations need to pay attention to. According to the data, the dip/recovery story is true, but the stock continuously underperforms against the NASDAQ.
Here’s the timeline post-breach:
- +14 days - Share prices fall 2.89% on average, and underperform the NASDAQ by -4.6%
- +1 month - Share prices rebound and catch up to NASDAQ performance
- +1 year - Share prices grow 8.53%, but underperformed the NASDAQ by -3.7%
- +2 years - Share price rose 17.78%, but underperformed the NASDAQ by -11.35%
- +3 years - share price is up by 28.71% but down against the NASDAQ by -15.58%
So, while stocks will bounce back to pre-breach values, there is steam lost and ground that will never be regained.
Organizations need to prepare themselves against data breaches with a layered security strategy that protects the logical perimeter, the endpoint, and the user. Security solutions address the perimeter (read: email and the web) and endpoint, while Security Awareness Training addresses the user’s willingness to be fooled into falling for phishing scams and social engineering tactics.
Stock price is only one factor, but it’s the one that matters to publicly-traded companies. Avoiding data breaches should be your number 1 priority to avoid a stock price disaster that will continue for years.