60% of Organizations Risk Missing the GDPR Deadline

With only two weeks left until the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) officially goes into effect, many companies still aren’t prepared and some are barely aware that the GDPR even exists or applies to them. The 2018 GDPR Compliance Report, a report on GDPR compliance from Cybersecurity Insiders, sheds some light on just how well organizations around the world are prepared for the May 25 deadline. 

The 2018 GDPR Compliance Report is sponsored by Alert Logic. It is the result of a comprehensive online survey of more than 530 IT, cybersecurity, and compliance professionals conducted in an effort to gain insight into how well organizations understand the GDPR, how prepared they are for the May 25 deadline, and how they intend to achieve and maintain GDPR compliance.

Alarming Number Not Ready for the GDPR Compliance Deadline

Surely, you’ve at least heard of GDPR by now, right? I mean, it’s been a primary focus of security vendors around the world for the last year. According to the report, though, 25 percent of the survey respondents are somehow unfamiliar with the GDPR—6 percent were not aware it existed at all.

What is perhaps more concerning is that 60 percent of those surveyed are not confident they will be compliant with the GDPR by the deadline. Nearly a third stated they have initiated the process of achieving compliance but won’t finish on time, while 28 percent claim to have plans, but haven’t yet begun.

When asked how long it will take to achieve GDPR compliance, only 43 percent responded that they can do it in three months or less. More than 40 percent of the survey participants believe it will take a year or more for their organizations to achieve full compliance with the GDPR—and a shocking 26 percent seem to think it will take 4 years or more.

Unfortunately, after May 25, lack of preparation or ignorance of the GDPR will not prevent EU regulatory authorities from penalizing companies with significant fines if they’re not compliant.

GDPR Compliance Challenges

So, what’s the hold up? Organizations have had plenty of time to get ready, so why are so many not prepared for GDPR compliance? According to the report, “The most frequently mentioned challenge in becoming GDPR compliant is lack of expert staff (43 percent), closely followed by lack of budget (40 percent), and a limited understanding of GDPR regulations (31 percent).”

Lack of necessary technology and lack of management support each also ranked as top reasons for about one in five companies. The question remains, though—with two weeks until the GDPR goes into effect, why are so many companies still lacking the skills, technologies, and budget required to achieve compliance?

Achieving GDPR Compliance

There is no easy solution for a lack of management support or a lack of understanding what the GDPR even is. However, for those who are striving to achieve compliance but struggling with skills, technologies, and budget, there are ways to accelerate the timeframe to achieve compliance.

Alert Logic provides the skills and technologies at a fraction of the cost of what it would take to hire people with the right skills and purchase and implement the necessary tools. We can help you quickly address some of the most crucial aspects of GDPR compliance. Click here for more about how Alert Logic can help you achieve and maintain GDPR compliance.

Take a look at the 2018 GDPR Compliance Report for more details about GDPR readiness. Whether you’re ready or not, May 25 is coming soon.