ONE IN TEN HOME-WORKING BRITS NOT GDPR COMPLIANT

As the UK awaits news as to whether restrictions of the lockdown could be further relaxed, home working has become the new norm with many businesses operating a “business as usual approach” with 100% of their workers working from home.

However, recent research conducted by full-service IT support company ILUX, has revealed some eye-opening revelations that business owners should consider. Of the 2,000 home working Brits surveyed, one in ten believed that their expected working practices are not GDPR compliant. 13% of the workforce admitted that they are using their own home technology for work. This could be the catalyst for their concerns over GDPR compliance.

But the issue is not just compliance, it is that of support. Two thirds of the 2,000 home workers felt that they did not have enough support from business owners when it comes to their IT – with one in ten admitting that they felt their bosses were either too busy or too stressed to approach them.

James Tilbury, Managing Director at ILUX, comments: “Whilst, as business owners, we may be busy, stressed and frankly trying to keep our heads above water, it is not a time to be complacent. Asking employees to work from home and then not providing the right computer systems and security measures is a recipe for disaster. The last thing any business needs at this time is to lose valuable data, leave themselves open to cyber-attacks or phishing and leave themselves vulnerable to the unknown. It may only seem like a small number, but it’s best not to be in that ten percent.”.

GDPR was brought in to strengthen data protection for individuals across the EU, all UK companies that process personal data must comply or risk significant financial penalties – up to 4% of the company’s annual turnover. For a business, not complying could have significant implications on business relationships also.

Tilbury continues: “Employees should only use business devices, not home computers, phones and/or tablets to transfer data. All devices should have the latest patches applied, to ensure security vulnerabilities or other bugs are fixed, as well as anti-virus, anti-spam and web protection. Home computers will, most likely, not have these applied. Nine in ten is a positive figure, better than would be expected, but as a business owner I would be starting to ask myself “Did I plan enough for home working” and get some advice from an industry professional on how you might rectify any GDPR issues in my business, now. Better to be proactive than reactive in these situations.”