EZShield Launches Comprehensive Portfolio Of Security Planning And Breach Services For Small Businesses

PRESS RELEASE

Palo Alto, Calif. (PRWEB) – March 19, 2012 – EZShield, a pioneer in identity theft management solutions, today announced a comprehensive security planning and breach services offering for small businesses. The EZShield SycurityMaxsm Business Suite – comprised of Sycuritysm Assist and Sycuritysm Prepare – delivers an affordable, easy-to-implement, full-service offering that helps small businesses prevent and respond to a data breach. In particular, the solution aids in overall security planning and helps minimize the financial and reputational impact in the event sensitive customer information, such as credit card or social security numbers, is stolen. A recognized leader in payroll, human resource and benefits outsourcing is already delivering these benefits to its customers by selecting the EZShield SycurityMax Business Suite as a value-added feature to its core product offering.

“The average victim cost of small business fraud is more than double the amount of all consumer fraud, representing a difference reported to be $1.56 billion,” said Phil Blank, senior analyst of security, risk and fraud, Javelin Strategy & Research. “To further complicate the problem, small businesses were significantly less able to overcome the misuse of their information, causing increased loss of revenue and potential damage to their reputation. In order to combat these issues, small business owners need resources for preventing and responding to instances of data breach to protect themselves and more importantly, the customers they serve.”

Security breaches are a growing threat to small businesses, with nearly three quarters of all U.S. small businesses experiencing an attack in 2010. Of the affected businesses, 27 percent suffered a loss in revenue while 22 percent experienced direct financial costs[1]. Given the significant affect an attack can have on both small businesses and the customers that frequent them, the U.S. government has enacted regulations requiring small businesses to ensure a data protection standard. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act require that certain types of companies provide instant notification if personal information is breached. In addition, almost every state and territory has enacted a "data breach notification" statute. Although statutes vary between states, data breach notification statutes generally require businesses that retain personal information about residents to notify them if an unauthorized individual acquires that data.

“In 2010 small business owners suffered fraud loss estimated at $8 billion[2]. This has a profound financial and reputational impact on the business and owner,” said Dale Dabbs, CEO, EZShield. “This is a real problem with real victims, as evidenced by a Chicago newsstand owner that lost $22,000 in revenue due to a breach, cutting his annual profit in half. The government is doing its part with regulations that punish non-compliance, but it is vital that technology vendors provide tools that increase security preparedness and prevent data breach. Today’s announcement of the SycurityMax Business Suite directly addresses those needs for the 27 million small businesses currently operating in the U.S.”

The EZShield SycurityMax Business Suite is comprised of two solutions, Sycurity Assist and Sycurity Prepare, which can be used individually or bundled together for maximum protection. When used effectively, they help small businesses prepare for all stages of a security breach, including before, during and after a possible incident.

· Sycurity Assist – Assists small businesses in designing a tailored, best practice security plan to help mitigate the chances of becoming a data breach target or victim. In particular, Sycurity Assist empowers small businesses to:

o Gain visibility into security vulnerabilities and assess readiness

o Create an action plan for security improvements to address identified gaps

o Educate staff with expert-developed training materials on how to spot and defend against security breaches

· Sycurity Prepare – Prepares a small business to efficiently and effectively respond to a breach incident to minimize the subsequent financial and reputational impact. In particular, Sycurity Prepare empowers small businesses to:

o Create a customized incident response plan

o Deliver a compliant and efficient breach response

o Preserve customer confidence with a professional response engineered and supported by security experts

Pricing and Availability

For pricing information on the SycurityMax Business Suite, please visit about.ezshield.com/sycuritymax or call 888/439-7443.

About EZShield

EZShield provides identity management solutions to consumers and small businesses through its network of strategic partners. EZShield’s offerings deliver a full spectrum of identity management services, including data breach preparedness and response, internet and credit monitoring, protection from check and mail fraud, and identity restoration. This full-range of security functionality, offered on a flexible platform and backed by best-in-class service, enables EZShield’s partners to quickly and efficiently bring to market an integrated solution that is tailored to the unique needs of its customers. For more information, please visit www.ezshield.com.