Data can be a valuable asset, especially when they contain exclusive information. Since the old days, companies have always invested money and resources on protecting intellectual property and trade secrets from theft. But more recently, a new type of information is gaining increasing value – personally identifiable information (PII).

Compared to intellectual property, companies are less cautious about protecting PII. There are two main reasons behind it. First is that personal data of customers and employees doing not require much effort (i.e. economic sacrifice) to obtain. Second is that unlike intellectual property, even if a copy of personal data gets leaked, it does not significantly devalue the original copy.

This does not mean that personal data is any less important. When PII ends up in the wrong hands, severe consequences like identity theft and financial fraud can impact thousands and even millions of people. As consumers become more aware of this danger, companies need to reassure their customers that they are safe to do business with by taking full responsibility in keeping PII safe.