NEW YORK—Edelman, which launched a specialist practice dedicated to privacy and data security issues in August, has introduced an online benchmarking tool that enables businesses to quickly benchmark their own privacy risk based on the data.

The online tool provides a Privacy Risk Index score, with a high risk score indicating a company is more likely to suffer reputation damage or economic losses as a result of a privacy-related problems and incidents.

“With the growing level of consumer, media and regulatory attention currently focused on privacy, businesses simply cannot afford to risk the reputational and financial damage that may result from a lack of attention to this business critical need,” says Ben Boyd, global chair of the corporate practice, Edelman. “Rather, we see an opportunity for businesses to grow confidence and trust in their brands through thoughtful privacy and data management.”

Adds Jules Polonetsky, director and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum: “Companies increasingly understand that using data effectively will lead to innovation, better consumer services and smarter marketing. But all of these new uses of personal information also create risks that if mishandled could undermine consumer trust and lead to restrictive regulation

“Senior business leaders need to assess their company privacy risk and avoid becoming a high profile example of the damage that can result from misuse or loss of consumer data.”