The number and value of fines for data breaches is predicted to increase between now and 2025, according to a new study by DSA Connect. Interviews with 1000 workers between 24 and 27 April 2020 revealed that 37% think there will be an increase and 6% believe the rise will be dramatic. Just 3% expect a reduction.
In regard to fines linked to the inadequate deletion and destruction of data, 32% think there will be an increase, 4% anticipate a dramatic rise and 2% expect a fall.
The primary factor in this expected growth is because employees have access to much more data than ever before, with 30% of respondents stating that they have accessed more data at work in the past 12 months. This is opposed to 7% who said the level has fallen in this period, while 57% found that there had been no change.
Encouragingly, 75% of workers think their employers have good or excellent’ processes for storing data safely and only 5% think they are poor. The remaining 20% said they don’t know.
However, only 38% of employees answered yes when asked if their employer had a data sanitization policy, with 14% saying no and 47% stating that they don’t know.
Harry Benham, chairman of DSA Connect, said: “With developments such as the Internet of Things (IoT) employers are dealing with more data than ever. They also have to contend with a rise in the number of cyber-attacks and ever more stringent legislation around protecting client data and how they use it.
“Employers need to invest more time and resources in enhancing their strategies against this.”
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has led to the development of other data protection legislation around the world recently. These include the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), which came into force last week and the Brazilian General Data Protection Law.