3 Months Till GDPR

This Sunday marks the official 3-month countdown to the GDPR enforcement coming into effect.

While we have all certainly heard lots about GDPR over the last twelve months, now is certainly the time for organisations to focus their efforts on becoming GDPR ready.

The comment below, from Rufus Grig, CTO at Maintel, explores how companies can best use the final three months to protect their consumer data from attackers.

Rufus Grig, CTO at Maintel:

“With just 3 months until GDPR comes into force, companies should be utilising this time to ensure they protect their consumer data from attackers.

As the final countdown begins, organisations should prioritise the way they treat consumer’s information – essentially regulating how data is shared for marketing and other purposes. Marketing organisations and outsourcing companies are among the business sectors that are most affected by the new regulations.

Cybercrime does not discriminate; it affects businesses of all shapes and sizes. A breach sends shockwaves throughout an entire organisation. In today’s data driven world the need for senior executives to comprehend threats and identify risks has intensified. Data risk is now the top concern of executives. It also doesn’t matter if a business is directly targeted or not – they can experience collateral damage from someone else under attack.

With the threat of crippling fines fast approaching, companies now need to comprehensively prepare for breaches. This applies not only for the technical response to it, but also for dealing with regulator, customer and media concerns quickly. So, while businesses can’t promise to stave off every attack, they can understand how attacks occur, what types of data is at the greatest risk and how to lessen the blow. New data protection laws will give businesses more stringent guidelines to follow, however by also planning, identifying and defending vulnerability now, firms can ensure they are GDPR compliant.