Will the words of Matt Hancock, (the UK’s Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport,) hot on the heels of the revelations that Cambridge Analytica has allegedly been harvesting data from Facebook for the purpose for which it was not necessarily intended, presage any change in attitudes to the use of personal data?
With just over 2 months to go until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect in the UK, one might hope so. However, whilst businesses might change their behaviours because of regulation and the threat of sanction, including hefty fines from the authorities, the real pressure must come from consumers.
How many of us read the Privacy Notices of the companies who we give our personal data to? Would we ever challenge that business if we thought it was a data mining exercise and they were asking for more information than appeared necessary to deliver their service to us?
Consumer attitude will be vital if the misuse of our personal data is to change. At the same time, GDPR will present an opportunity for proactive businesses. But as we chat with many individuals and the firms they represent, we find that some remain unaware of GDPR and the impact it could have on their business, whilst others have been confused by what they’ve been told to date.
Duncan Hall, Head of Cyber Security at Millbridge Systems, speaks at business conferences and events across the UK, as well as advising organisations about planning for and implementing GDPR and the associated requirement to keep their data secure. For further details please contact us. Duncan would be delighted to come and demystify GDPR for your organisation too and help you meet your GDPR obligations with a simple and pragmatic approach.
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