Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Locating Customer Data Will Be Half the Battle to Fulfill EU GDPR s Right to be Forgotten

25/05/2017

Blancco Technology Group Study Finds Global Organizations Don't Know Where All Customer Data Is Stored and Use Unreliable Data Removal Methods to Erase User Content

Atlanta and London, May 25, 2017 - EU GDPR is a game-changing piece of data protection legislation that goes into effect one year from today on May 25, 2018. While the legislation includes various components related to how organizations collect, store, manage and protect customer data, the right to be forgotten' gives individuals the right to have personal data erased. But if most organizations cannot locate where their customer data is stored (both on-premise and offsite), it will be difficult to fulfill right to be forgotten' requests, according to the EU GDPR: Countdown to Compliance research study released by Blancco Technology Group today.

As our study found, most organizations struggle with identifying and locating where all customer data is stored. 15 percent of German organizations admitted they don't know where all customer data is stored, both on-premise and offsite. Plus, the United States (13 percent) and United Kingdom (12 percent) are the two countries with the second and third highest percentages of respondents who don't know where all of their customer data is stored. For French organizations, however, the problem is somewhat worse with 20 percent saying their confidence level in their ability to find all customer data is low - ranging from extremely unconfident to slightly unconfident.

Richard Stiennon, Chief Strategy Officer, Blancco Technology Group, said, If an organization cannot find their customers' data, how will they be capable of erasing the data and complying with the EU GDPR's requirement? Once they do finally locate their customers' data, the next step is erasing the data permanently so that it can never be recovered. But as our study reveals, it's quite common for organizations to use insecure and unreliable data removal methods, such as basic deletion and free data wiping software, which further undermines their security and compliance to EU GDPR.

Key findings from the study include:

French, Spanish and German companies will beef up spending on EU GDPR-readiness technologies and processes. 85 percent of Spanish companies will spend up to $3.99 million, while 77 percent of French companies and 73 percent of German companies will spend the same amount. However, fewer American companies (65 percent) will spend this same amount.

72-hour breach notification, records maintenance of data processing activities and right to be forgotten' top the list of EU GDPR priorities. Meeting the 72-hour data breach notification rule (25 percent) and maintaining written records of data processing activities (25 percent) both ranked as the top priorities for American organizations. British organizations are most concerned with maintaining written records of data processing activities (22 percent). Conversely, 22 percent of Spanish organizations will prioritize the appointment of a Data Protection Officer.

Insufficient budgets, improper handling/storage of IT equipment and lack of data removal software are the biggest roadblocks to the right to be forgotten.' 12 percent of the American respondents cited insufficient budget as their biggest challenge, while it's also a challenge for French companies (17 percent), British companies (16 percent) and German companies (15 percent). Plus, improper handling/storage of IT equipment ranks as a major challenge for Spanish companies (28 percent), American companies (21 percent) and British companies (17 percent).

Insecure and unreliable data removal methods undermine security and compliance. Basic deletion is used by IT professionals in France (34 percent), US (28 percent), Spain (26 percent), UK (24 percent) and Germany (23 percent) to remove data. Meanwhile, free data wiping solutions (without proof) are used by organizations in Spain (35 percent), UK (33 percent), US (25 percent), Germany (27 percent), US (25 percent) and France (21 percent).

Data Protection Officers are uncommon and costly additions. 59 percent of American companies and 53 percent of British companies are most likely to assign the responsibilities of a DPO to an existing role. In Germany, however, companies would be somewhat inclined to hire a new, dedicated role (40 percent). Meanwhile, 16 percent of French companies would outsource the role to a consultant.

Change begins with a data protection gap analysis. 41 percent of American organizations are currently undergoing a gap analysis and 43 percent of British organizations plan to start in the second half of 2017. In addition, 50 percent of Spanish organizations will do so in the second half of this year. But 14 percent of the French respondents and 14 percent of the German respondents will wait until 2018.

Stiennon concluded, The first priority for all companies should be to gain a complete picture of all data that is collected, stored or processed that contains EU citizen information. After that, companies must ensure that adequate means of protecting that data have been implemented, such as access being restricted to authorized personnel, proper authentication being used and proper procedures for backing up and archiving data and data sanitization policies being implemented to remove data when it is no longer needed or requested by customers. In addition, any third parties that have access to the data must be evaluated to ensure they too have adequate controls in place.

For more details about the various requirements of the EU GDPR, visit the dedicated page on Blancco's website.

About Blancco Technology Group Blancco Technology Group (AIM: BLTG) is the de facto standard in data erasure and mobile device diagnostics. The Blancco Data Eraser solutions provide thousands of organizati
LINK: https://www.blancco.com/press-releases/locating-customer-data-will-hal...
See more stories from blancco

More from Blancco

07/02/2024

Blancco Collaborates with Lenovo to Improve Customers' Cybersecurity

Home News & Press Blancco Collaborates with Lenovo to Improve Customers' Cybersecurity Blancco Collaborates with Lenovo to Improve Customers' Cyber...

20/12/2023

Blancco celebrates Back-to-Back Wins for Best Security Solution' at the Cyber Security Awards 2023

Home News & Press Blancco celebrates Back-to-Back Wins for Best Security So...

05/12/2023

Francisco Partners Completes Acquisition of Blancco Technology Group

Home News & Press Francisco Partners Completes Acquisition of Blancco Technology Group Francisco Partners Completes Acquisition of Blancco Technology Group...

19/10/2023

Blancco Saves 107M KG of IT Devices from Becoming E-waste

Home News & Press Blancco Saves 107M KG of IT Devices from Becoming E-waste Blancco Saves 107M KG of IT Devices from Becoming E-waste Oct 19, 2023 Lates...

13/09/2023

Blancco to validate and certify devices for eBay Refurbished

Home News & Press Blancco to validate and certify devices for eBay Refurbished Blancco to validate and certify devices for eBay Refurbished Sep 13, 2023 ...

27/06/2023

Study: 39% of Businesses in Heavily Regulated Industries Are Not Acting on Sustainability Issues Caused by End-of-Life Data

Home News & Press Study: 39% of Businesses in Heavily Regulated Industries A...

14/06/2023

Blancco's Newly Transformed Global Partner Program Foundational to Doubling its Enterprise Business by 2025

Home News & Press Blancco's Newly Transformed Global Partner Program Fou...

08/03/2023

Surge in Cloud Adoption Means a Greater Data Attack Surface for Healthcare and Financial Services, Finds Blancco Report

Home News & Press Surge in Cloud Adoption Means a Greater Data Attack Surfac...

13/12/2022

Blancco Drive Eraser Named Best Security Product by 2022 Cyber Security Awards

Home News & Press Blancco Drive Eraser Named Best Security Product by 2022 Cyber Security Awards Blancco Drive Eraser Named Best Security Product by 2022 C...

25/10/2022

Blancco prevented 74 million KG of E-waste in FY 2022

Home News & Press Blancco prevented 74 million KG of E-waste in FY 2022 Blancco prevented 74 million KG of E-waste in FY 2022 Oct 25, 2022 New Blancco E...

07/09/2022

Blancco and The Turing Trust collaborate to provide thousands of devices for schools in Africa

Home News & Press Blancco and The Turing Trust collaborate to provide thousa...

24/08/2022

Blancco Drive Eraser Granted GS Certification

Home News & Press Blancco Drive Eraser Granted GS Certification Blancco Drive Eraser Granted GS Certification Aug 24, 2022 Recognized by public and priv...

06/07/2022

Blancco Appoints Jon Mellon as President of Global Sales, Marketing and Field Operations

Home News & Press Blancco Appoints Jon Mellon as President of Global Sales, ...

28/06/2022

Blancco achieves goal of becoming carbon neutral

Home News & Press Blancco achieves goal of becoming carbon neutral Blancco achieves goal of becoming carbon neutral Jun 28, 2022 Global leader in data s...

08/06/2022

Blancco acquires WipeDrive

Home News & Press Blancco acquires WipeDrive Blancco acquires WipeDrive Jun 08, 2022 Move extends Blancco's reach in US among private and public sec...

27/05/2022

Blancco Named Sustainability Innovator of the Year at Channel Partner Insight's US MSP Innovation Awards

Home News & Press Blancco Named Sustainability Innovator of the Year at Chan...

17/05/2022

Blancco Announces New Chromebook Data Sanitization Capabilities

Home News & Press Blancco Announces New Chromebook Data Sanitization Capabilities Blancco Announces New Chromebook Data Sanitization Capabilities May 17, ...

03/05/2022

Taoiseach cuts ribbon at newly launched Blancco office in Cork City Centre

Home News & Press Taoiseach cuts ribbon at newly launched Blancco office in Cork City Centre Taoiseach cuts ribbon at newly launched Blancco office in Cork...

22/12/2021

Blancco Wins SEAL Business Sustainability Award

Home News & Press Blancco Wins SEAL Business Sustainability Award Blancco Wins SEAL Business Sustainability Award Dec 22, 2021 Blancco recognized for it...

13/12/2021

Blancco's Data Erasure Solutions Empower DoD Contractor Compliance with CMMC 2.0 Media Protection Requirement

Home News & Press Blancco's Data Erasure Solutions Empower DoD Contracto...

30/11/2021

Blancco and Dariu Seek Used Business Laptops for Thousands of Vietnamese Schoolchildren in Need

Home News & Press Blancco and Dariu Seek Used Business Laptops for Thousands...

29/10/2021

Government Bulk Tender for Software-Based Data Destruction Awarded to Blancco Technology Group

Home News & Press Government Bulk Tender for Software-Based Data Destruction...

20/10/2021

Publication of ESG Report

Home News & Press Publication of ESG Report Publication of ESG Report Oct 20, 2021 ESG report launched today reveals Blancco's circular economy focu...

29/09/2021

Blancco joins AWS ISV Accelerate Program, emphasizing the company's shared visions around sustainability

Home News & Press Blancco joins AWS ISV Accelerate Program, emphasizing the ...

09/06/2021

Blancco Makes Data Erasure Services Available to Government with New Vietnam Office

Home News & Press Blancco Makes Data Erasure Services Available to Governmen...

26/05/2021

Consumers demand assurances from online trade-ins as 57 percent expect to upgrade to 5G mobile devices in next two years

Home News & Press Consumers demand assurances from online trade-ins as 57 pe...

11/05/2021

Blancco Technology Group Announces Integration with ServiceNow to Strengthen Data Security and Simplify IT Asset Management

Home News & Press Blancco Technology Group Announces Integration with Servic...

24/03/2021

Blancco and WANdisco close digital divide with Laptops for Kids

Home News & Press Blancco and WANdisco close digital divide with Laptops for Kids Blancco and WANdisco close digital divide with Laptops for Kids Mar 24, ...

11/02/2021

Carahsoft Offers Blancco Data Sanitization Solutions Through AWS Marketplace Consulting Partner Private Offers (CPPO) Program

Home News & Press Carahsoft Offers Blancco Data Sanitization Solutions Throu...

25/05/2017

Locating Customer Data Will Be Half the Battle to Fulfill EU GDPR s Right to be Forgotten

Blancco Technology Group Study Finds Global Organizations Don't Know Where A...

18/05/2017

Android Tightens Grip on its Dominant Position Over Apple in Smartphone Performance Battle

Q1 2017 State of Mobile Device Performance & Health Report Finds Android Devices...

27/04/2017

Uncontrolled User Acce to Data, Mismanaged Storage Locations and Data Hoarding Poke Large Holes in Corporate Data Governance Programs

Blancco Technology Group Study Reveals 69 Percent of Organizations Allow Employe...

10/04/2017

Blancco Technology Group Files Stipulation for Voluntary Dismial Wiout Prejudice of Declaratory Judgment Sought by ITRenew

Atlanta, GA and London, UK, March 2, 2017 - Blancco Technology Group (AIM: BLTG)...

06/04/2017

Apple s iPhones Were Weighed Down By Repeated Performance Iues and High Failure Rates in the Last Year

Q4 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance & Health Report Reveals iPhone 6 and ...

28/03/2017

Blancco Technology Group Expands Asia Pacific Presence with New Office Opening in Beijing, China

New Office in Major China Technology Hub Will Provide State-of-the-Art Data Eras...

31/01/2017

Encryption and Reformatting Drives Might Seem Convenient & Reliable, But ey re Not Fail-Safe Data Protection Measures

Blancco Technology Group Study Finds 70 Percent of Organizations Rely on Encrypt...

16/12/2016

Delayed reat Detection & Breach Notifications Intensify Regulatory Challenges of Data Protection

Despite EU GDPR's 72-Hour Breach Notification Requirement, 13 Percent of Com...

17/11/2016

Apple s Newer iPhones and iPads Fail Almost Twice as Much as Android Devices

Q3 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance & Health Report Points to Crashing Apps and Overheating as Big Annoyances for iOS Users, With Pokemon GO App Highly P...

02/11/2016

Holiday Shoppers Appetite for New Smartphones Comes with Steep Data Privacy Price

Despite Fears of Credit Card Numbers, Company Emails and Customer Lists Being Ex...

13/10/2016

Shadow IT and Infrequent Audits Open Door to Data Security Vulnerabilities in the Cloud

Blancco Technology Group Study Finds 26 Percent of Organizations Have Limited Vi...

22/09/2016

Improper Data Removal & Poor Enforcement of Data Retention Policies Create the Perfect Storm for Data Breaches

53 Percent of Global Organizations Use Two Common, But Unsuccessful Methods to E...

19/09/2016

Blancco Technology Group Appoints Kei Butcher as Chief Financial Officer

Top Finance Executive from PaySafe Group Will Guide Financial Operations, M&A Opportunities and Investor Relations for Continued Growth & Success Atlanta, GA a...

26/08/2016

Apple s iOS Loses Smartphone Performance Battle to Android Devices, Plagued by High Failure Rates & Crashing Apps

Q2 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance & Health Report Reveals iOS Failure R...

15/08/2016

Blancco Technology Group Launches No Trouble Found (NTF) Savings Calculator for Mobile Network Operators and Device Manufacturers

Calculator Breaks Down Annual Costs Needlessly Incurred from Inaccurately Diagno...

13/07/2016

Blancco Technology Group Names Richard Stiennon Chief Strategy Officer

Seasoned IT Security Expert & Former Gartner Analyst Joins Leadership Team to Guide Long-Term Strategic Planning, Product Positioning, Public Affairs and Indust...

13/07/2016

Blancco Technology Group Hires Steve Holton as Company s First President and Chief Revenue Officer

Longtime SaaS Industry Veteran & Top BlackBerry Sales Executive Tapped to Build ...

16/06/2016

H&T Pawnbrokers Strips Away Security Risks of Second-Hand Electronics with Help from Blancco Technology Group

One of the UK's Oldest Pawnbroking Chains Uses Data Erasure Software to Perm...

11/05/2016

Android Device Performance Lags Behind iOS, with Samsung S6, Samsung Galaxy S5 and Lenovo K Note at Head of Failing Cla

Q1 2016 State of Mobile Device Performance & Health Report Uncovers Glaring D...