The internet has been buzzing with news of political change in the UK, where consumers are demanding US-like fines, regulations and notification rules regarding data breaches. Earlier this month Network World reported the Information Commissioner fined two organizations 160,000 pounds in two of their first fines for “serious” data breaches. Yet despite the new fines, consumers in the UK still want more protections and disclosure rules, so says 5,000 UK consumers in one survey.
Say a risk manager in the UK is looking at the ROI of improving certain aspects of security. With little in the way of required fines and notifications, last year’s chief risk manager would have had a harder time proving out the ROI of security investments if the costs of a breach were smaller.
Now the tables are turning and the moral of the story is as follows: it’s a good time to bring that security project in the UK back to the spotlight in light of escalating costs of breaches. If your security project in the UK got rejected because the severity of loss of a security breach couldn’t justify the resource investment, bring that back to the table. Ultimately, you will need to implement a least privilege solution and eliminate admin rights across the entire organization to satisfy these regulations.
