EU fines for data breaches exceeded € 170 million in 2020
European countries imposed fines totaling € 171.3 million (the US $ 211 million) for violating the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) framework last year.
The figures presented in a report published by research and The Finance News Agency in Bold on Tuesday indicate that fines have been imposed almost 60% of the total in the UK – which recently left the European Union – and Italy.
Under the provisions of the regulation, government agencies have the power to require businesses and public bodies to take sufficient measures to protect personal data from cyberattacks and other harmful types of data compromise and to impose financial penalties if this is not done.
The fines of the last year represent an increase of more than a third compared to 2019 and include a German retailer H&M has been fined 35 million euros (43 million US dollars), more than 27 million euros (33 million US dollars) were re-applied for installed Italian telecom operator TIM and a fine of 22 million euros ($ 27 million) against British Airways.
The penalties requested by GDPR countries are comparatively low when imposed on fines for data breaches elsewhere.
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In 2019, the US Federal Trade Commission fined Facebook $ 5 billion for data corruption related to the Cambridge Analytica scandal. This led to previous lawsuits against the credit bureau Equifax ($ 700 million) in 2017 and the Uber app ($ 150 million) in 2018.
After GDPR implementation in 2018, the number of violations against the penalties has continued to increase, suggesting that many companies and institutions could do more to protect sensitive information about those who use their services.
“Despite campaigns asking organizations to take better measures to protect consumer data Infringements recorded across the EU remain significant. “Finbold’s editor-in-chief, Oliver Scott, said.
“It will be interesting to see if organizations will take additional responsibility in 2021 to prevent violations,” he added.
To monitor the novel coronavirus pandemic, an explosion of illegal online activity has been carried out by guard dogs and government institutions alike Recorded an increase in internet-enabled crime of more than 600% by the middle of last year.
With the proliferation of child pornography on the internet, a boom in darknet drug sales, and an open season for phishing scams, ransomware attacks, and other data breaches, reported against both public infrastructure and commercial establishments.
These included an ongoing attack on the Czech healthcare system, a DDoS campaign against the Macedonian State Electoral Commission, and a potentially nine-month hack against federal agencies in the US. suspected to have been carried out by criminal actors supported by Russia.
OCCRP / TechConflict.Com