Over one third of U.S. businesses do not feel fully prepared for GDPR deadline, Thales research finds

SAN JOSE, Calif., Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Thales, a leader in critical information systems, cybersecurity and data security, announces the results of its research on the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The report, based on research by Censuswide and sponsored by Thales, captures the preparedness levels of organizations in Europe and the United States for the May 2018 GDPR compliance deadline, as well as their perceptions on the new regulation's business impact.

Click to Tweet: Approx 35% of U.S. orgs don't think they will be fully prepared for GDPR come May 2018 @thalesesecurity report: http://bit.ly/2zF4HbT

Intended to improve personal data protection and increase accountability for data breaches, the GDPR is perhaps the most comprehensive data privacy standard to date. However, the regulation presents a significant challenge for organizations that process the personal data of EU citizens, regardless of where the organization is headquartered. This means that any U.S. organization that handles data belonging EU citizens will be required to be GDPR compliant when the regulation comes into force in May 2018. 

Gartner's forecast predicts that by the end of 2018, over 50 percent of all companies affected by the GDPR will not be in full compliance with its requirements. According to the Thales report's findings, around 35 percent of U.S. organizations already don't believe they will be fully prepared for the GDPR in time for the deadline. In addition, U.S. organizations are apprehensive about the GDPR's impact on their business.  

Key concerns of U.S. businesses:

• Just over 56 percent believe that implementing measures to become GDPR compliant will increase the levels of complexity and red tape within their business.
• Approximately 45 percent are concerned that the GDPR will hinder their organization's innovation to some degree.
• Almost 18 percent expect the GDPR to have a negative impact on relationships with their international partners.
• Interestingly, while roughly 20 percent believe the GDPR will lead to fewer data breaches, 49 percent are concerned that its implementation will actually result in an increased number of breaches.

Although U.S. businesses have several concerns surrounding the GDPR, over half (approximately 53%) remain optimistic that the GDPR will have no effect on their business operations whatsoever. Along the same lines, over a third of businesses (35%) suggest that a GDPR-type regulation is definitely required for handling the personal information of U.S. citizens.

Jim DeLorenzo, solutions manager, GDPR, Thales eSecurity says:
"Organizations that are not prepared for the GDPR would be remiss to think that this regulation won't impact their business operations. In fact, if organizations fail to comply, they could face multiple legal challenges as well as staggering fines, consequences that will undoubtedly garner negative attention. With so many U.S. businesses having a global reach, it's imperative that American business leaders understand the ramifications of not complying with the GDPR."

The research also examined consumer privacy and control concerns in the UK and Germany. The results reveal that almost half (47 percent) of consumers believe commercial organizations don't care about their privacy, and that two in five (42 percent) don't trust anyone to keep their personal information private.

Download your copy of the Thales eSecurity report – "Protecting private personal data – why there's more to the GDPR than just fines."

To help make sure your business is fit for the GDPR, Thales eSecurity has compiled a series of useful resources, which you can find here.

For industry insight and views on the latest data security trends check out our blog. You can follow Thales eSecurity on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and YouTube.

Methodology
Thales eSecurity commissioned the survey among 2,000 consumers in the UK and Germany (1,000 in each region), and 1,500 C-level executives in the UK, US and Germany (500 in each region). The research was conducted online by polling company Censuswide, an international research organisation, in August 2017.

About Thales eSecurity
Thales eSecurity is the leader in advanced data security solutions and services that deliver trust wherever information is created, shared or stored. We ensure that the data belonging to companies and government entities is both secure and trusted in any environment – on-premises, in the cloud, in data centers or big data environments – without sacrificing business agility. Security doesn't just reduce risk, it's an enabler of the digital initiatives that now permeate our daily lives – digital money, e-identities, healthcare, connected cars and, with the internet of things (IoT), even household devices. Thales provides everything an organization needs to protect and manage its data, identities and intellectual property, and meet regulatory compliance – through encryption, advanced key management, tokenization, privileged-user control and high-assurance solutions. Security professionals around the globe rely on Thales to confidently accelerate their organization's digital transformation. Thales eSecurity is part of Thales Group.

About Thales
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets. With 64,000 employees in 56 countries, Thales reported sales of €14.9 billion in 2016. With over 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design and deploy equipment, systems and services to meet the most complex security requirements. Its exceptional international footprint allows it to work closely with its customers all over the world.

Positioned as a value-added systems integrator, equipment supplier and service provider, Thales is one of Europe's leading players in the security market. The Group's security teams work with government agencies, local authorities and enterprise customers to develop and deploy integrated, resilient solutions to protect citizens, sensitive data and critical infrastructure.

Thales offers world-class cryptographic capabilities and is a global leader in cybersecurity solutions for defence, government, critical infrastructure providers, telecom companies, industry and the financial services sector. With a value proposition addressing the entire data security chain, Thales offers a comprehensive range of services and solutions ranging from security consulting, data protection, digital trust management and design, development, integration, certification and security maintenance of cybersecured systems, to cyberthreat management, intrusion detection and security supervision through cybersecurity Operation Centres in France, the United Kingdom, The Netherlands and Hong Kong.

SOURCE Thales