One in four European businesses don't know GDPR is coming

Every fourth European company has no idea GDPR is coming its way. Consequently, they don’t know about the dangers and the draconic fines that follow those that don’t comply with the upcoming regulation.

This is according to a new report by IDC Research, based on a poll of 700 European companies. More than half (52 percent) don’t know what the impact on their organization is.

Even among those that were aware of GDPR, the findings aren’t what they should be. Every fifth company (20 percent) still hasn’t started preparing for the GDPR, even though it’s just a year away. Almost 60 percent were still getting their system in line with the rules, which means just 21 percent is ready for the regulation.

GDPR, or General Data Protection Regulation, is set to come into force in May 2018. It regulates how businesses must handle data gathered from EU citizens. That includes how they gather it, how they manage and store it, and importantly -- how they protect it.

Those that don’t comply with the GDPR could face huge fines -- up to four percent of the company’s annual earnings, or €20 million, whichever number is greater.

IDC has also taken a closer look into encryption, and how businesses are using it. File encryption has been implemented in 46 percent of the firms, and is desired by 36 percent. On the other hand, full-disk encryption is in use in 38 percent of companies, and desired by 34 percent of them.

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