Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner attended the Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICA) on 17th January for a lecture where she warned that:
“When it comes to data protection, small businesses tend to be less well prepared…But small organisations often process a lot if personal data, and the reputation and liability risks
are just as real…”
As many should now be aware that the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into force in May 2018 and it is critical that businesses big and small start preparing now and implementing measures to ensure their compliance with the new regulations. Choosing the right solicitors with the right expertise to help you with this is crucial.
It should be noted that the UK will still be a part of the EU when the GDPR is enforced and even after the UK leaves the EU, business that wants to operate in the EU will still need to be compliant.
The Information Commissioner stressed that the biggest change concerning the GDPR is accountability. The responsibility will be on the companies to understand the risk that they are creating for others and taking adequate measures to mitigate those risks. The Information Commissioner stated that; “It’s about moving away from seeing the law a box ticking exercise…”.
The Information Commissioner revealed that the government’s recent cyber risk survey showed that despite 69 per cent of businesses stating that their senior management ranks cyber security as a high priority, in reality only half of business had taken any real steps to identify cyber risks.
The Information Commissioners Office received almost 200,000 calls on their helpline last year and issued more than £1million worth of fines last year to organisations found to not be compliant with the regulations. It is a clear warning therefore that there will be no excuses come May 2018 when the GDPR is enforced for getting it wrong!
As you can see; central to the Information Commissioners address at the ICA was that the GDPR’s arrival is imminent and everyone is at risk. Businesses must learn to embrace the changes and adapt.
At Nath Solicitors, we understand that with the new regulations looming, businesses may find themselves feeling lost and confused and not know where to even begin. We would therefore encourage you to get in touch with us today and find out how we can help you.
