A recent survey of 13,400 public company directors and general counsel reveals that data security risk has become the top legal concern among both groups. According to the 2012 Law and the Boardroom Study by Corporate Board Member and FTI Consulting, 48 percent of directors and 55 percent of general counsel noted data security as their principal legal concern. This marks the first time data security has topped the annual survey's list, and the level of concern has nearly doubled in the past four years.    

That's not surprising in light of a 2011 Ponemon Institute study showing 90 percent of organizations have had a data breach. According to Al Saikali, co-chair of the Shook, Hardy & Bacon data security and privacy group, the average cost of a data breach is $7.2 million, or $318 per record. A data breach also can create a public relations problem and brand damage by drawing attention to a company's security lapse, he says, and result in government investigations, such as state attorney general actions and Federal Trade Commission complaints.