As we settle into the new reality of GDPR, and the flood of pleading emails arriving at our Inbox slows to a trickle, you might be forgiven for thinking that the worst of the data wars were over and the world could get back to normal.
Think again.
There’s one small part of GDPR that never made it into law on the 25th, but was planned to do so. However, it’s been held up by a review by the Council of the European Council following some disagreement within the EU Parliament.
Lobbying is intense. On one side are the big guns of the digital world – Facebook, IBM, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Netflix and others, and on the other is the EU. At stake is a critical decision on the future of your data. It’s called ePrivacy.
What ePrivacy says is that anyone gathering your data can only do so. And only with your express permission for a specific, agreed purpose. So your data can’t be used for anything else, and – and here’s the bone of contention – it also requires that companies offer the same services whether or not you agree to have your data collected. In other words, you don’t have to agree to a privacy policy to get to use websites, apps and platforms.
Not unsurprisingly the big data companies are up in arms as your data provides fairly lucrative revenue streams when sold to others – with you current permissions – for targeted (or not) advertising.
The war is raging now – unseen and unsung – but being bitterly fought. And with the likes of Facebook and Cambridge Analytica fresh in the mind, maybe we’re a bit less ready to click that “Agree” button.
So what does it mean for businesses like yours?
Keeping your data secure is now under GDPR and is absolutely essential. In whatever form ePrivacy takes when it is released, it will make the doubly so. Penalties under GDPR for data breach and loss through hacks, and for failure to notify, are substantial, and ePrivacy likely to make them more so.
Having the right protection in place is a requirement, and here at KubeNet we can help you with the right Firewall, and even with a free trial of Cisco’s new Umbrella, a new system they spots threats before the develop.
Find out more about our security products here and about our Umbrella free trial here or email sales@www.kubenet.net or alternatively call 0344 873 4488 Option 2.
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