Some 94% of European organizations struggle to find skilled practitioners for critical privacy-related roles, according to a new survey by professional association ISACA.
The IT audit and governance body surveyed 375 privacy professionals across the region in Q4 2022 as part of a broader global survey. privacy practices.
European businesses recognize the importance of privacy, and although 87% offer awareness training to their employees, most also acknowledge there are skills gaps.
The report revealed that more than half (59%) of technical privacy teams in Europe are understaffed. ISACA claims the issue is difficult to address, with one-fifth of respondents saying it would take him more than six months to take on such a role, and that his Twice as many (41%) complain of insufficient privacy budgets.
This can have serious implications for the same organization.
Half of respondents (49%) cited inadequate training as a major privacy failure, two-fifths (38%) cited data breaches, and a similar number (39%) cited GDPR as a major failure. I pointed out that it didn’t practice privacy by design, which is part of it.
A DLA Piper report released yesterday revealed that GDPR fines will grow 168% year-over-year to exceed $3 billion in 2022.
Yet despite the obvious financial and reputational impact of a severe breach, only 38% of business leaders are confident in their organization’s ability to protect sensitive data, warns ISACA. .
Chris Dimitriadis, Global Chief Strategy Officer at ISACA, argued that privacy professionals play a key role in establishing digital trust between organizations and their customers and other stakeholders. bottom.
“As technology advances, new complexities and threats are introduced, and the cyber threat landscape grows in scale and sophistication, the demand for these individuals will only increase. It’s good news for candidates who have the privacy skills, but it’s also bad news for companies struggling to close the privacy skills gap,” he added.
“As our new research highlights, companies are considering changing their training programs and adopting privacy by design to limit the number of privacy breaches, build digital trust, and keep their businesses safe for the long term.” We need to be ready for real success.”
