The Fines for Cyber Security Breaches Will Increase – Here’s How to Protect Your Business

Protecting your business from the impact of a data breach is something many companies must take seriously. In June, it was reported that the amount of data breach notifications received by data protection and privacy authorities had on average increased across Europe by 66%. This is compared to the period between May 2018 and May 2019, the first year of GDPR coming into force. The largest amount of data breach notifications was seen in both France (2287) and Spain (1608), representing a 97% and 58% increase respectively. Interestingly, the UK saw a decrease of 11% on the first year of GDPR.

The concern raised with the figures is that despite more regulation in compliance with data protection in place, the reasons behind these data breaches are unfortunately familiar. Many of them related to breach of confidentiality and unauthorized access by third parties of both employee and client data. According to Law firm Linklaters, the reasons behind the cyber security breaches were:

  • External hacking or scams
  • Emails and documents sent to incorrect recipients
  • Unsecured devices being lost or stolen, including laptops and mobile phones
  • Poor security measures in place to protect data online, such as non-secure databases

More Data Risks Taken, Mean More Breaches & More Fines

All of the reported issues are unsurprising and what’s worse is that many were before the impact of COVID-19 and lockdown measures across the world forced companies to shift to mass remote working. At RealTyme, we have been concerned that in the shift to working from home, many companies have not taken steps necessary to ensure security is of the highest standards to protect data online, especially whilst the majority of people are accessing sensitive from home over WIFI networks and using computer software that could put their company at risk.

Back in October 2019, it was predicted that cyber security breaches were set to increase by nearly 70% in the next 5 years, which would mean that the costs involved would rise from $3 trillion every year to $5 trillion by 2024. One of the factors for this would be an increase in the financial penalty enforced on companies who fail to follow tightened regulations. Whilst the likelihood of cyber security breaches is increasing, so are the costs involved.

With access to data hosted on the cloud relied upon globally, with remote working here to stay for companies while they wait to reopen offices, the importance of having high-level security in place for company processes, communication and workflows have never been more important. At RealTyme, we provide solutions to ensure no matter your sector, including healthcare, finance or telecoms, you can collaborate securely using best-in-class encryption with secure data transfer and storage. Our solutions include an end-to-end encrypted messenger and secure video conferencing. Protecting sensitive data whether it’s for your employees or clients has to be of the highest priority and fully compliant with existing industry protocols.

Contact us today to find out how we can protect your business assets from the potential of cyber security breaches and book a demo of our platform.

You may also like