Fines Less of a Concern than Reputational Damage for Public Sector Security

In a survey of 250 UK public sector professionals working in cybersecurity, risk and data protection by Zivver, 52% of all respondents cited reputational damage as their biggest challenge in relation to outbound secure communications. This was followed by preventing data leaks (50%) and employee awareness on security (49%). Meanwhile, fines were deemed a lesser concern at 19%.

Speaking to Infosecurity, Rick Goud, CIO and co-founder of Zivver, said while the fines issued to BA and Ticketmaster put the topic more top of mind, “I don't think the fear of fines is what will drive change.”

He added: “In the Netherlands, for example, the country with the highest adoption of email data protection solutions, fines hardly exist. Adoption will increase with higher awareness, which is enforced by media attention, public interest, independent research and awareness campaigns. So I see fines as a way to increase awareness, not increase fear.”

Regarding COVID-19’s impact on the security of outbound communications in public sector organizations, around one in three of all respondents said the pandemic brings additional vulnerabilities requiring ongoing security changes. Further reflecting the high levels of uncertainty, especially by those at the top, 43% of IT leader ..

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