28 . Glasgow Business October 2016
W
e have all become hooked on our mobile devices. Separation from our smart phones can even bring on anxiety atacks.
It’s become a symptom of our working lives. Te Internet of Tings has helped improve productivity and increased the pace of change. Meanwhile, progressive Glasgow businesses have been at the forefront of the digital surge in the UK in last 20 years. Our digital sector is the largest in Europe, employs over 1.5 million people and it is growing faster than the rest of the economy by a number of measures. However, this open digital world has leſt the door ajar for an unsavoury bunch of cyber- crooks, rogue and enemy states, and ‘hacktivists’ who are determined to disrupt our civic society. Tey are all piling in at our expense. Cyber security is now an in-the-moment reality, but we’re still too lax when it comes to protecting our business assets. A recent survey of FTSE 350 companies showed that around half now placed cyber risk as a top risk, up from less than a third a year previously. But the same survey also showed there’s still a fair way to go. Two thirds of boards have not clearly set and understood their appetite for cyber risk. Tey beter wake up and start planning now. While Brexit remains a serious business risk with its consequences still unfolding, European Union laws related to cyber security have also undergone a period of unprecedented change in 2016. Two major new pieces of EU legislation – the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Network and Information Security Directive (NIS Directive, also known as the Cyber Directive – will impose security and breach notification obligations on many organisations. At this stage, the GDPR has penalties, including fines, for non-compliance (EU member states have the authority to create fines for non-compliance with the NIS Directive). Both laws are set to apply from May 2018. Brexit, or not, Glasgow companies who hold data will need to take heed. Any company wishing to do business or hold data involving a
IT’S TIME
European nation will have to abide by the regulation. Under the new rules, a company must notify if it has had a personal data breach to the ‘competent data protection authority’ without undue delay and, where feasible, within 72 hours aſter becoming aware of it. Notification is not required if the breach is unlikely to result in any risk to individuals, but all breaches must be recorded.
Building a strong cyber economy is not just something for the private sector; it applies to the public and not-for-profit sector too. Te UK and Scotish Governments are both commited to building a nation that is secure and resilient to cyber threats, and prosperous and confident in the digital world. But the challenges are
increasing every day. In Scotland, an SME survey, conducted by the University of Glasgow and the Scotish Business Resilience Centre, showed that cyber crime was on the rise and that 74 per cent of SMEs have had data breaches, while 33 per cent have suffered a cyber-atack. “Te impact on companies in Glasgow can be very significant,’’ says Mandy Haeburn-Litle, Director of the Scotish Business Resilience Centre, which was set up in 1996 to tackle new and existing threats to business. “We are encouraging firms to take greater control of their cyber security. Tis means implementing common sense policies on password protection and also ensuring they have installed the latest security technology they can afford. It is about
CYBER SECURITY Our increased reliance on digital technology presents threats
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