January 25, 2012 - The European Union privacy rules are being overhauled today (25/01/2012), changing the way companies are made to handle personal information, with a single set of privacy standards across the EU and significant fines from the FSA for those that breach the new guidelines.
This is the first time these regulations have been updated since 1995. With European Data Privacy Day approaching on Saturday 28th January, data privacy is set to be a big focus this week.Charles Race, Senior Vice President Global Sales Strategy at Informatica comments:
"The 21st century data explosion is in full swing, so it's no wonder that breaches and abuse of personal information is top of the agenda for the EU. As consumers, patients, customers and social networkers, our personal information is stowed in countless places, outside of our control. Overhauling EU privacy rules puts the right level of pressure on organisations to ensure that they are in total control over valuable information, for the good of themselves and their customers.
"Businesses will need to re-evaluate what steps they have taken to prevent data breaches in the first place and I expect we'll see the likes of data masking technology come into its own this year as a result. This enables organisations to implement more sophisticated tools and parameters that protect against data breaches.
"Already the subject of stringent regulation and the risk of hefty fines from the Financial Services Authority, following these new standards, the financial services industry in particular will be feeling the heat to make doubly sure that its data security measures are up to scratch."
