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Publication | ThinkSet 4

The New Business of Trust | ThinkSet

Rowan Philp

Spring 2018

Data-breach prevention and protection, not just crisis response

A corporate golden rule of “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you” has added two crucial words from customers to 21st-century businesses: “or else.”

The new imperative is to treat the data of others the way you’d like to be treated, or face regulatory penalties, client defections or marketplace shaming. One estimate says that half of US companies hold information about European residents and will be required to comply with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), set for May 25, 2018.

These companies are vulnerable to the GDPR’s huge potential fines if they fail to make data storage fully secure and compliant and the use of personal data transparent to consumers. Legal and business experts are bracing for the first case that tests enforcement.

Perhaps an even better reason to overhaul data privacy is a competitive benefit of retaining customer trust, along with operational improvements that come from data-security transformation.

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