How readable are data breach notifications?

Abstract

Data breaches – broadly defined as incidents where protected data that is considered sensitive and confidential has been disclosed, accessed and/or altered in an unauthorised manner – present a growing threat to society and organisations. While much of the focus to date has been on technical countermeasures, particularly the ways to prevent and detect security threats associated with data breach incidents, we also need greater insights into the readability of the notification response used by firms to alert affected consumers after a suspected incident has taken place. Data breaches – where protected data that is considered sensitive and confidential has been accessed in an unauthorised manner – present a growing threat to society and organisations. While much of the focus to date has been on technical countermeasures, we also need greater insights into the readability of the notification response used by firms to alert affected consumers after a suspected incident has taken place. Stephen Jackson of the University of London examines ways in which we can judge how comprehensible breach notifications are and how we can go about improving them.