PRESS RELEASE Countdown to GDPR: Less Than 3 Months to Prepare

London, 2nd March 2018 – There are less than three months before the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) kicks in. It should be of concern to insurers, risk managers and their clients that different regions outside the European Union, small and large businesses, and internal departmental silos such as HR, Finance and Marketing are still not ready to comply with the new EU law, according to Fifth Step CEO and GDPR author Darren Wray.

Wray says: “There have been a number of reports, surveys, and studies in recent days that reveal a stark gap between intention to implement and readiness to comply with GDPR when it lands on the 25th May 2018. Some countries (Singapore) and indeed, entire continents (Africa and the Middle East) are struggling to make the GDPR compliance grade.

“Meanwhile, some internal departments such as Human Resources and Marketing are peddling furiously to make up for lost time. It doesn’t matter if you are a large or small business. Separate surveys at the end of February 2018 have shown that small businesses (90% in the UK) are still not prepared while 78% of global companies consider data protection and data privacy compliance a growing concern. Yet only 33% of global companies have a plan in place for GDPR. It’s still not too late but the large hand is at 5 minutes to twelve so time is of the essence.”

Data Protection Officer (DPO)

All organisations will need someone who is a named contact point for their Data Protection Authority; this is at the minimal requirements end of a DPO spectrum. For larger companies, those processing more than 5000 personal information records annually or those processing sensitive personal information, will all need someone who ensures that the compliance of the organisation with the GDPR is responsible for the management of data breaches and many other processes.

For more information on preparing for GDPR, contact Darren Wray darren.wray@fifthstep.com or download his book The Little Book of GDPR available on Amazon. For more information on Fifth Step www.fifthstep.com

GDPR Readiness as at 28th February 2018?

Just 10% of organisations in Singapore are ready to comply with the new European Union (EU) law.

60% of European companies indicate that they have a compliance plan in place.

There is still much more work to be done in other markets, including Africa and the Middle East (27%) and the Americas (13%).

Globally, only 33% have a plan in place to comply with the new legislation.

According to the Ponemon 2017 Cost of a Data Breach Study, it takes an average of 201 days for U.S. companies to detect a data breach. That will be far too long under GDPR.

A sector breakdown shows that hospitality and arts & entertainment firms are the least prepared. Over half of respondents in these industries have not yet started preparing for the changes.

Small businesses in the financial services sector are the most prepared with 82 per cent of respondents having started or completed their GDPR preparations.

25% of brands are unprepared for GDPR.

---ends---