When enforcement of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went
into effect on May 25, 2018, it had worldwide implications on data
protection and privacy legislation. One year later, there are
conflicting sentiments from the global workforce about whether the
regulation has been effective, according to a new survey released by Snow
Software, the global leader in technology intelligence solutions.
The survey, which polled 3,000
professionals in the United States, Europe and Asia Pacific region,
found that only 39% of respondents feel their personal data is better
protected since GDPR enforcement began. Another 34% indicated that data
protection seemed the same, while 20% are unsure and 6% actually believe
their personal data is less protected than it was prior to enforcement.
This mixed response around the impact of GDPR likely reflects the
complexity of educating the public on data regulations, as well as the
difficulty that organizations still face in complying with the law.
According to the survey, 57% of global workers noticed stricter policies
at work regarding the use of technology or customer data as a result of
GDPR. Enforcement appears to have had the biggest impact in Europe,
where 70% of respondents reported stricter policies, and at medium-sized
businesses with 100 to 1,000 employees, where 65% of workers noticed
policy changes. Additional findings include:
-
A majority of global respondents (74%) noted an increase in pop-ups or
opt-ins requesting consent regarding the use of personal information -
Of those that saw an increase in pop-ups or opt-ins, 19% believe these
consent requests negatively impact their productivity and 32% are
increasingly annoyed by them -
Nearly half of respondents (49%) said that they either have seen an
increase or no change in the amount of spam they receive -
74% of respondents also believe that the technology industry still
needs more regulations -
Sentiment on the current state of regulation is mixed, with 24%
reporting that they feel vulnerable and 19% saying they are worried
but 29% noting they were hopeful
“One year since the introduction of GDPR, the regulation has started a
global dialogue around how customer data is cared for and, if nothing
else, has helped strengthen best practices to ensure data protection,”
said Alastair Pooley, Chief Information Officer at Snow. “Whilst workers
themselves may not directly feel this impact yet, the increase in data
breach notifications being reported to the UK’s Information
Commissioner’s Office is noteworthy, as it suggests that transparency
was seriously lacking prior to enforcement. There is still a lot to do,
but it is clear that considerable steps have been made by organizations
worldwide to ensure there are enhanced data protection efforts and
improved transparency globally. The question that remains to be seen is
whether the regulation and the controls implemented in its name will be
strong enough to stand up to the rising tide of threats we face in the
years ahead.”
As a part of a larger governance and risk strategy, many organizations
have made achieving or maintaining GDPR compliance a critical priority
for their IT organizations. In an effort to help customers build the
foundation of GDPR compliance, Snow recently added a new
analytics overlay into its Governance & Risk product, which
finds and identifies applications that store or process personal data.
This insight helps to minimize the exposure of devices with access to
personal data, highlight applications that are facing end of life or end
of support and provide information for mandatory compliance steps such
as the creation of a Record of Processing Activity. Through a scored
risk metric, Snow calculates an organization’s potential GDPR risk and
advises actionable next steps to manage or mitigate accordingly.
For more information on Snow’s GDPR solution, please visit: https://www.snowsoftware.com/int/products/snow-governance-risk.
About Snow Software
Snow Software is the global leader in
technology intelligence solutions, ensuring the trillions spent on all
forms of technology is optimized to drive maximum value. More than 4,000
organizations around the world rely on Snow’s platform to provide
complete visibility, optimize usage and spend, and minimize regulatory
risk. Headquartered in Stockholm, Snow has more local offices and
regional support centers than any other software asset and cloud
management provider, delivering unparalleled results to our customers
and partners. To find out more about Snow Software, visit www.snowsoftware.com.
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