Now there is nowhere for companies to hide if they suffer a data breach

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There is now nowhere for firms to hide if they suffer a data breach, write Dario Milo, Pooja Dela and Fatima Ismail

Cyberattacks spiked in SA as the country adopted remote working during the level 5 lockdown. It was reported that up to 310,000 devices were attacked in one week in March.

According to the IBM “Cost of a Data Breach Report 2019”, the average cost of a data breach in SA in 2019 was about $3.06m, with the number of records disclosed per breach averaging 22,060. Though these figures are disconcerting, at least SA ranked second in terms of the average time taken to identify and contain a data breach, at 175 days and 56 days, respectively.

Various provisions of Popi came into effect in 2014, but the key operational provisions and obligations have been lying in abeyance for many years. On July 1 those remaining provisions came into effect. Responsible parties will be given a grace period of one year in which to comply with the relevant provisions of the law.

Here’s the twist: if a breach occurs there is no longer anywhere to hide. In the past companies might have done some damage control and heaved a sigh of relief that the breach did not go public. But no more. This is because responsible parties will, after the 12-month grace period, be obliged to notify the Information Regulator, and the data subject, in writing as soon as reasonably possible. Popi does not prescribe what this period must be.

 

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