From reports of tainted food and product recalls to cyberbreaches resulting in theft of consumer data, incidents that reducecustomers' trust in businesses are becoming increasingly visible tothe general public. That makes trust-related risks a fast-growingarea of vulnerability that could threaten companies' ability tocompete. Consider, for example, how a highly publicized productdefect that harms consumers might affect a business's long-termsuccess.

The heightened transparency of our digital world makes trust ahyper-flammable, ever-present concern that extends far beyond mediaheadlines and brief dips in reputation. Instead, an incident thatcompromises the trust of key stakeholders can have a significantand lasting impact on a company's bottom line.