Time might not be on the side of the UK companies that have not yet begun preparations for GDPR compliance.
Most studies indicate that the majority of the United Kingdom’s organizations are at high risk of incurring substantial financial losses in fines. At this point in time, all is not lost. Close to eight months remain for companies to prepare for the new regulations. Companies can take advantage of this period to align their processes with the requirements of GDPR to prevent non-compliant consequences in May 2018
The real estate and construction industry in the United Kingdom is one of the industries that is ill-prepared for GDPR. Collyer Bristow’s report indicates that this industry lacks understanding of the new law and consequently cannot get prepared for it. With barely eight months left to the compliance deadline, 35% of real estate and construction businesses do not have the slightest idea about GDPR. Currently, the financial sector seems to be the most prepared for the incoming data protection rules with only 14% who have not heard about the new law. This proportion is compared to 27% across all business sectors in the country.
The report also reveals that 35% of the real estate and construction industry is yet to initiate any process to guide their businesses in compliance. This percentage is still high when compared to the 20% for all business in the UK. In every indicator, the financial sector is the best performer in compliance preparedness. Just 15% of financial sector has not begun their preparations. The financial sector, according to the study results, looks set to satisfy all the requirements when the law becomes effective. Their determination to align their processes with the regulation’s requirements could be due to the sensitivity of the sector. Consequently, they cannot leave anything to chance.
Real estate businesses and construction have failed in almost every aspect of the new regulation. The Collyer Bristow’s report shows that 28% of this industry lacks data breach contingency plan. This represents 5% higher for businesses across other sectors. The research revealed that 18% of all businesses in the country believe the penalty of up to €20 million or 4% of global revenue will increase their risk of insolvency. The finding implies that many Real estate businesses may not be able to meet their financial obligations because their evident lack of preparations increases their chances of being penalized.
More than half (57%) of the senior management do not participate in matters related to data protection according to the results. 34% of them do not plan to implement data risk assessment between now and May 2018. This lack of priority is disastrous and will definitely have negative impacts on their final preparations. This is particularly true given the several changes introduced by the new law which must be satisfied. It should be remembered that risk assessment is critical to the introduction of technical and organizational measures, and for the deployment of major systems and technologies.