Digital Privacy Laws have more advantages than disadvantages
IT and security professionals say government’s digital privacy laws about data security have considerable more advantages than disadvantages, according to a new survey by Cisco.
Survey respondents cited significant backing for privacy laws with 83% saying these rules have had a positive impact. Based on the survey, respondents value a strong governmental role in protecting privacy, as this guide can provide:
The Cisco 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study also found that:
- Privacy has become more meaningful to buying processes, governance metrics, and employee duties
- The ROI of enhanced privacy methods remains high for the third straight year
- Customers want more transparency about how data is applied in automated decision-making
- Data localization necessities are important but pricey
- Aligning privacy with safety creates financial and maturity benefits when compared with other organizational models
According to the report, these two metrics show the improved importance of privacy:
- 94% of respondents report privacy metrics to boards of directors
- Data privacy ranked second in the top three priorities for security professionals
The report also includes data from the Cisco 2021 Consumer Privacy Survey. The survey includes more than 5,300 security professionals from 27 countries who completed the survey in the summer of 2021. Survey respondents represent all major industries and a mix of company sizes.
Privacy budgets are up 13% from 2020 spending levels at an average of $2.7 million in 2021. Respondents also reported a positive return on investment from this spending with 60% or more, indicating significant benefits in these areas:
- Faithfulness and trust
- More inviting company
- Operational efficiency
- Agility and invention
- Mitigating security failures
- Reducing sales holdups
What surveys says about digital privacy
In another survey question about costs, 87% of respondents said data localization requirements are adding significant costs to functions. In the 27 countries represented in the survey between 76% (Russia) and 94% (Singapore) said complying with these rules made costs go up. Respondents in the U.S. were in the middle with 88% reporting increased costs, while the UK was at 82%.
When it comes to allocating responsibility for managing privacy, most companies put the IT team (38%) or the security team (33%) in charge. Compliance carries the responsibility in 10% of organizations surveyed with legal and operations at 8% and 9%, respectively. The security team edged out the IT team in terms of generating the highest ROI from privacy best exercises. Companies that have put security teams in charge of this work are most likely to say that privacy maturity is more advanced than their peer companies.
IT Professionals can handle your digital privacy better
IT and security professionals feel confident about progress in protecting privacy and security at work, according to the survey. Consumers are not seeing the same improvements, based on Cisco’s consumer survey. That research found that 47% of respondents can’t protect personal data because it’s “too hard to figure out what companies are doing with my data.”
The survey included queries about acceptable use cases for personal data, including matching sales representatives with customers, deciding creditworthiness, and setting prices. About half of all respondents said they would have low trust in a company if artificial intelligence is used for these decisions:
- Mental healthiness counseling
- Job interviews
- Sports gear marketing
- Creditworthiness
Privacy laws are more beneficial than damaging according to IT experts.