The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25th 2018 and a survey from Tripwire identifies current preparedness trends. Findings show that 77 percent of companies subject to GDPR could meet the 72-hour notification window, with 24 percent claiming they could notify customers of a data breach within 24 hours.
When asked how prepared their organization was to notify customers in the event of a data breach, less than a fifth (18 percent) said that they were fully prepared with a process in place. The majority (73 percent) said they were ‘somewhat prepared’ and would have to figure things out ‘on the fly’.
“When it comes to cyber security, it’s short-sighted to figure things out ‘on the fly,’” said Tim Erlin, vice president of product management and strategy at Tripwire. “The majority of data breaches and security incidents can be avoided by following basic security steps and implementing tried and tested foundational controls. With GDPR coming into effect this year, running a business without a fully baked plan is really asking for trouble.”
When asked to characterize their company’s capabilities for knowing where its customer data is stored versus for protecting customer data, respondents were more confident in knowing where the data is. Over a third (35 percent) said their knowledge of where the customer data is stored is ‘excellent’ by comparison to just over a fifth (21 percent) saying the same for their ability to protect customer data.
Other findings from the study revealed that most don’t feel they are fully prepared for any aspect of a security breach. Less than a fifth (18 percent) felt they were fully prepared with a cross functional team in place to work across IT, finance and communications. Nearly three quarters (73 percent) were not fully prepared to protect customers and only a fifth (22 percent) felt prepared to absorb potential financial penalties as a result of a security breach.
The study was commissioned by Tripwire and carried out by Dimensional Research in November 2017. A total of 406 qualified participants completed the survey. All participants had responsibility for IT security as a significant part of their job and worked at companies with more than 100 employees.
