Many organisations collect, use and store personal data every day. This data needs to be kept and used for the reason it was agreed upon, kept private from those who do not require access and it must be stored and secured in a protected location.
It is important to keep data secure and away from the prying eyes of cybercriminals who aim to steal, use or sell personal information on the dark web for financial gain or malicious reasons.
Those people who fall victim to an attack are left in a vulnerable position, where they are now at risk of identity fraud and the company who are accountable for exposing their data could be taken to court and prosecuted, depending on the circumstances.
Cons of Not Securing Your Data
- Large GDPR fines
- Criminal convictions
- Tarnished reputation
- Loss of sales/profit
From April 2019 – March 2020 the ICO resolved 39,860 complaints which was up from 34,684. They believe that in most instances the complaints to them were about data controllers “breaking the law” and not asking for additional advice/reviews on what responses they had already received.
This means that the individual did not have confidence that their data was handled properly and, in around half of the complaints, the ICO found the companies to be at fault, so taking data protection seriously is important.
According to the ICO, the sectors that are generating the most amount of complaints fall into General Business, Local Government and Health. The reasons for generating most complaints being the subject access, disclosure of data and right to prevent processing.
No matter what size your organisation is, everyone is at risk of a cyber attack which is why every organisation needs to take data security seriously.
In the event of a data breach
In the event of a data breach, you must follow the GDPR to prove you have done everything in your power to protect the data you create, hold and use, be transparent about how you are using, storing and protecting the data you hold.
Working with a Data Security Expert like Cloud Access, we can help you identify what you need to do to keep your data safe.
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