Less than half of Irish businesses are prepared for new GDPR laws Technology, news for Ireland, Ireland,Technology,

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Less than half of businesses in Ireland (48%) are prepared for new data protection regulations under the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to the latest Dublin Data Sec 2018 survey of 350 Irish businesses.

The research shows that although data security is a priority at board level for over 8 in 10 respondents, this does not correlate with GDPR planning and preparation. The GDPR directive comes into force on May 25th 2018.

The survey also reported that almost 3 in 10 businesses (29%) experienced a cyber attack in 2017 while half expect a cyber attack to occur in 2018. More than 3 in 4 respondents perceive cyber attacks to be a major threat to their business operations. Against this backdrop, experts believe minimising the risk of data breaches as part of preparation for the GDPR is crucial.

The GDPR will involve everyone in a business or organisation. However, more than one-third of respondents to the survey (35%), reported that their business does not have staff training in place in relation to data security.

To help deal with this matter, the second annual data protection conference, Dublin Data Sec 2018, Ireland’s GDPR event with keynote speaker the Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) for Ireland Helen Dixon, will take place on Monday April 9th in the RDS Concert Hall.

The event hopes to drive awareness and preparedness among businesses and organisations. It will address data protection and risk, highlight best work practices, and focus on topics including data retention, auditing, data analysis and data management.

Speakers at Dublin Data Sec 2018 include:
· Helen Dixon, Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland
· Mark Little, CEO of Neva Labs
· Marie McGinley, Head of Intellectual Property, Technology and Data Protection at Eversheds Sutherland
· Daragh O’Brien, Founder, Castlebridge, specialising in Information Trust
· Jason Dowling, Partner WDA and Co-Founder, RedFlare
· Brian Honan, CEO at BH Consulting, information security industry expert
· Helen Quinn, Executive with the Small Firms Association (SFA)
· Deirdre Garvey, Chief Executive Officer, The Wheel, Ireland’s national association of charities, community and voluntary organisations
· Emerald de Leeuw, CEO Eurocomply GDPR Software
· Ardi Kolah, Executive Fellow and Director of the GDPR Transition Programme at Henley Business School and Founder of GO DPO®
· Sharon O’Reilly, GRC/GDPR Consultant with IT Governance Europe
· Aoife Sexton, Co-Founder and Director, Frontier Privacy
· Howard Roberts, Chief Technology Officer, Arkphire
· Professor Theo Flynn, Professor of Digital Business at DCU Business School
· Shirley Finnerty, Business Group Lead for Windows and Devices at Microsoft Ireland
· Sean Whelan, Head of Data Protection at Paddy Power Betfair
· Mary Colhoun, Director of Data Protection, eir

Speaking this week, Data Protection Commissioner (DPC) for Ireland, Helen Dixon said, "The obligations in the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) apply directly to every organisation in Ireland from 25th May 2018. This means all public, private and voluntary organisations of every size need to be familiar with the requirements around what information must be given to all individuals when their personal data is being collected, used and stored and with the rights individuals have in relation to controlling how their personal data is treated."