Sharp Rise in Data Breach Reports Since Start of GDPR.
Data breach reports have more than doubled since 25th May 2018.
According to an article in the Irish Times on 30th July 2018, the Data Protection Commission (DPC) has received 1,184 reports of breaches since the GDPR came into effect on 25th May this year. In the 67 days since the new legislation went live, this averages 18 reports of data breaches per day, 126 per week.
Speaking about the report, Danielle Cussen, Managing Director of Wizuda, said, “The increase of data breach reports comes as no surprise with the rise in the public’s general awareness of data privacy rights and the fact that it is now mandatory under the GDPR to report breaches to the DPC within 72 hours of becoming aware of them. It will be interesting to see if the types of breaches differ from the previous trends of breaches reported.”
Aside from the increase in breach reports, businesses throughout Ireland are eager to see the consequences under the GDPR, for those who are proven to be in breach.
Looking to the potential penalties for companies Danielle said, “It is expected that the DPC will have to make strict enforcements given the penalties outlined in the new legislation. It’s very useful for businesses to be able to read up on case law and get a practical understanding of the rational that is applied with regards to enforcement. For instance, the ICO in the UK have a very clear breakdown of the rationale behind the penalties they have applied since the GDPR came in into effect (for further information click here). This could give us some good insights in terms of what we can expect from the DPC in the coming months.”
The DPC are currently working their way through the increased breach reports. We have yet to be advised on the breakdown and nature of these breaches. However, of the 1,184 data breach notifications since May 25th, it has advised that the regulation applies in 953 cases.
