ESET partnered with leading analytics firm IDC to explore how small and medium-sized businesses in selected countries are approaching the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and endpoint security. The results show that uncertainty about the regulation continues to prevail among European businesses.
Nearly 78% of IT leaders in more than 700 European companies either do not understand how the regulation will affect them or are not aware of it at all. However, more than a third of companies want encryption, an issue addressed by the General Data Protection Regulation. These and other findings from IDC research, conducted on behalf of ESET, are being revealed at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Until March 2, 2017, ESET experts will be presenting on this topic at the ESET stand (Hall 5, booth B05).
“63% of confirmed data breaches are attributed to stolen or compromised passwords, demonstrating the importance of an additional or alternative factor of authentication… Data anonymization is one option, encryption is another. Both have their pros and cons. Anonymization is good, but it cannot “prevail” in the case of correlation from multiple sources. Encryption solves this issue, but – at least until recently – it was considered too complex and expensive for most small and medium-sized businesses,” Mark Child, Research Manager at IDC, said in the report. “Protecting customers and partners is paramount to ensuring the continued success and survival of any business entity. However, companies are now increasingly realizing the business value of their data and recognizing the expansion of the regulatory framework they must respect, as well as the penalties imposed in case of non-compliance,” adds Child.
However, the groundbreaking EU legislation is not fully understood by businesses. Of those companies aware of the General Data Protection Regulation, 20% say they are already compliant, 59% say they are working towards it, and 21% say they are not ready at all. IDC conducted its survey of IT professionals in more than 700 businesses in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain and the United Kingdom during the fourth quarter of 2016.
Another interesting finding from IDC is how European small and medium-sized businesses are approaching encryption. “Many organizations recognize that their existing antimalware is inadequate for today’s threat landscape, and half of respondents cited this as the most important area to add or upgrade,” says IDC’s Child. Encryption, which is mentioned in the GDPR, is a requirement for 36% of respondents.
"ESET is one of the companies that got involved in encryption early, with the DESlock encryption solution and offers guarantees to businesses to meet EU requirements," says Pavol Balaj, Head of Business Development in EMEA at ESET, speaking at Mobile World Congress.
For more information about the General Data Protection Regulation, and how ESET helps businesses prepare for it, interested parties can read the relevant whitepaper and visit the dedicated page.
Security solutions that organizations use or want
Source: IDC, 2016
What do you know about the Personal Data Protection Regulation?
Source: IDC, 2016
