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Survey finds GDPR unsuccessful

As the fifth anniversary of EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) arrives, data published iResearch Services (www.iresearchservices.com) uncovers that the regulation has been unsuccessful in preventing data breaches with nearly 60% of firms revealing that they have experience a GDPR-related data breach in the past five years.

“Our research shows that a contributory factor is how GDPR requirements are being communicated to employees,” says Yogesh Shah, CEO, iResearch Services.  “Only a third of firms (33%) says they have organized formal training on GDPR.  Instead 28% of firms are relying on written policies and procedures, whilst 18% depend on informal discussions and reminders, and 6% of firms that staff have not undergone GDPR training.”

“While meeting data regulations such as GDPR requires an upfront financial investment, the recent news surrounding Meta highlights how the cost of non-compliance can far outweigh this,” adds Shah.  “Data breaches can also have a damaging long term effect on a firm’s brand and reputation, and so it is positive to see that firms are welcoming stricter regulations to reduce their likelihood of experiencing a data breach of their own.”

IResearch’s findings shows that GDPR has brought some benefits to firms, with 33% of survey respondents saying that their organization has improved their data protection practices, increased data privacy awareness amongst employees was cited by 27% of respondents, and 15% say GDPR has improved customer trust in their organization.  However, these benefits have not come without a cost – 20% say that GDPR has increased their organisation’s compliance costs.
 
Looking ahead, firms want to see more rules put into place to protect consumer data. More than half of those surveyed (54%) would like to see stricter data protection requirements, and more than a third (33%) would like to see increased penalties for non-compliance.
 
The iResearch Services’ survey canvassed the views of 350 business leaders across the UK and US working in financial and professional services.