It's hard to imagine anything more damaging to a brand than when customer information is leaked because of a breach. 

Just ask Noel Biderman, former CEO of notorious web site Ashley Madison, or the site's users. With the proliferation of complex systems, integrations with third parties, and all the work it takes to ensure an app meet user expectations, it's a tall order to keep sensitive data safe and secure. When a leak happens, the clock starts ticking. Expect audits, compliancy reviews, massive user churn...the list goes on. 

You may think that data breaches within your brand are unlikely to happen. Or maybe you know you're vulnerable but you simply can't prioritize data protection over other investments your business is demanding. I'm sorry, but if that's the case, it's time for a reality check and a chat with your security and app dev leaders. Breaches are sadly all too common and very damaging to a brand. Sometimes, you're not the cause for the breach but rather a third party is to blame, as experienced recently by Uber. 

Whatever the source of a data breach, it's clear that mobile app dev teams are struggling to keep up with security testing. According to a Ponemon-IBM study, 77% of IT professionals surveyed said the pressure to release a mobile application quickly prevented them from conducting security testing. Among the organizations surveyed, 5.5% of $34 million spent on average annually on mobile app development is allocated to making sure mobile apps are secure against cyber-attacks. 50% of companies devote no budget to security. 

The outcome? The average cost of a data breach for 2013-2014 was nearly $6 million for U.S.-based businesses, according to the Ponemon-IBM study. 

Related post: Proactive Monitoring in the Digital Experience Age

Half the battle in mobile security is knowing that something has gone wrong with your app. Perfecto's monitoring solution can detect production data breaches within minutes. While we're not a data protection company, we are a leader in the business of quickly alerting teams about the presence of a potential breach in their mobile app or website. 

Perfecto's client-side monitoring technology exercises your app in the exact same manner as an end user. Our approach validates expected data on real device screens, providing teams with an early warning to quickly identify and react to potential data breaches before they escalate into PR disasters. Learning about a data breach within minutes of it occurring can get the right team on the job and seal the leak immediately. 

For example, one of our bigger health care customers has eight devices executing key business transactions in a staggered fashion, around the clock, on their mobile app. Not only do they know within two minutes if the service is disrupted or not performing as normal, but they're also validating the accuracy of user data showing on the device screen. The ability to have this safety net in the form of early awareness allows the team to be attentive and informed of issues in production and prevent major glitches from reaching users. 

As your organization accelerates mobile app releases and expands capabilities, you increase exposure to leaks and breaches. Some of it you can manage in pre-production, but breaches will still occur. To mitigate this growing risk, adopt a layered strategy by adding a production monitoring safety net that will ensure your site or app is not the next Ashley Madison.