Global Data & Privacy Update - 4 June 2015

Cost of data breaches increasing

According to a study released last week, the cost of data breaches is rising for companies around the world. The study by research organisation Ponemon Institute revealed that the total average cost of a data breach is now USD 3.8 million or about USD 154 per record lost or stolen. The costs include fixing the breach, investigating the cause, setting up hotlines for customers and providing credit monitoring to those affected. These costs are then compounded by lost business due to customers' wariness after a breach. In the UK, the average cost of the worst breaches is between GBP 1.4 - 3.14 million according to a separate survey conducted by PwC; representing an increase of over 200% from last year.

Data stolen during cyber-attack on German Bundestag

A spokesperson for Germany's Bundestag, the lower house of parliament, has this week confirmed that hackers managed to steal data during a cyber-attack two weeks ago. The hackers managed to gain access to the Bundestag's internal server, reportedly using so-called Trojan viruses to launch an unprecedented attack. Days prior, there had been reports that government IT experts had noticed previous attempts to access the server.

Dutch approve mandatory breach disclosure

The Dutch Senate has approved the Bill on Data Breach Notifications, amending the Dutch Data Protection Act to include new mandatory notification of security breaches of personal data for all data controllers in the Netherlands. Failure to notify is subject to the newly introduced fine of a maximum of EUR 810,000 or 10% of the company's annual net turnover per violation, which could include global revenues. Although it is not yet known when this Bill will come into force, it is thought that the Dutch Parliament has approved these changes in line with the forthcoming EU Data Protection Regulation.

Heartland Payment Systems suffers data breach

On 8 May, Heartland Payment Systems suffered a break in at their Californian offices in which thieves made off with a large number of computers and other materials. It has not yet been revealed how many clients have been affected by the theft but it is...

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