The clock’s ticking, soon the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be upon us and you need to ensure your business is prepared. The GDPR represents the greatest change in data protection in over 20 years and it comes into effect from 25th May this year. There is still time to get your data in order and make certain you have the right security in place to keep it safe. In fact, there are some very simple steps you can take to vastly reduce your likelihood of a data breach.

The motivation behind the regulation is to protect individuals from data and privacy breaches in a world where there is an increasing amount of data held about all of us, in numerous different places. Businesses, like yours, need to be certain what personal data you hold, where it was sourced and with whom you will be sharing it. You may need to update the permissions for the data you currently hold and review how you seek permissions in the future.

Another aspect of being ready for GDPR is having adequate cyber security in place to protect your data, but how do you stop those security breaches from occurring in the first place? Perhaps surprisingly, research has found that the vast majority of successful cyber breaches – over 90% – have come about as a result of human error or a lack of knowledge.

One of the most effective measures you can take to protect your data is to provide your staff with appropriate training. Raising awareness of existing cyber threats and providing your staff with the knowledge to deal with them, will assist you in reducing the likelihood and frequency of human errors occurring.

In addition to taking steps to mitigate the likelihood of cyber breaches occurring, you should ensure you have procedures in place to detect, report and investigate a data breach, should one occur. Organisations which do not comply with the GDPR could find themselves fined 4% of their annual turnover or the equivalent of €20 Million (whichever is greater), therefore, you can’t afford to take shortcuts when it comes to cyber security.

Staff training and awareness are crucial when it comes to protecting your business from a data breach,  help your staff to help you and invest in their training. For a relatively small commitment in terms of time and training, you’ll find your business far more secure and the chances of a breach cut dramatically. Intelligencia Training have a range of training programmes available specifically aimed at equipping your staff with the necessary skills to thwart a cyber attack. Contact our team today to discuss your training requirements.