Brands have "urgent ethical obligations" to notify customers over data breaches

Organisations have an urgent ethical obligation to notify their customers when there is a data breach, according to a new report.

In the 2023 Governance Institute of Australia Ethics Index, it highlighted that 73 percent of respondents say there’s an urgent ethical obligation for customers to be notified about all data breaches.

Megan Motto, CEO at the Governance Institute said cybersecurity breaches, privacy protection and the increasing use of AI are also at the forefront of people’s minds indicating the desire for stronger protections and regulations in this space.

“An overwhelming proportion of those surveyed said they felt it was an ‘urgent ethical obligation’ for companies to notify customers of all data breaches, and to ensure generative AI technologies are not used to mislead or deceive,” she said.

“Fears around future job losses due to AI are also proving to be a growing ethical concern.”

The report also highlighted the importance of ethics has reached an all-time index high.

Motto at the Governance Institute said the increase in the importance placed on ethics shows expectations aren’t being met.

“The ethical expectation deficit - which is the gap between the value we place on ethical behaviour and the perception - is growing wider,” she explained.

“This indicates that there’s still plenty of work to do by organisations and individuals, both in the public and private spheres to ensure good, ethical conduct and a positive culture remain top of the agenda.”

The report noted the most ethical occupations being fire services, ambulance and pharmacists, and the least being real estate agents.

The rising cost of living, cybersecurity breaches and the increasing use of AI are seen as the top ethical challenges of 2024.

“Concerns around the use of generative AI and data breaches are clearly playing on the minds of the public, with an overwhelming majority feeling there is an urgent ethical obligation for companies to notify customers of all data breaches – not just serious ones,” she ended.