Sophos Cyber Threat Report: Make Dollars And Sense Of GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has significantly changed the way personal data is handled in the EU and beyond. To minimize the risk of running afoul of GDPR compliance laws, it’s critical that customers and partners understand the increased protection requirements of GDPR, regardless of where they are based.

“Most customers don’t even really understand what it all is,” says Dan Schiappa, senior vice president and general manager of products at Sophos. “They know it’s important, but they don’t understand what it means to implement protections that will be compliant with GDPR.”

This presents solution providers with a golden opportunity, because many of the disclosure laws are complex. Solution providers can provide guidance on best security practices to prevent a data breach and guidance on how to stay compliant.

“GDPR has really emphasized the need for data protection and data privacy,” says Erin Malone, vice president, North American channel sales at Sophos. “This is a massive opportunity for our partner community to come in and be experts in understanding what companies need to do to make sure that they can meet these regulations.”

If companies don’t meet GDPR guidelines, they could pay a hefty price. GDPR fines max out at either 4 percent of an organization’s annual revenue or approximately $23.3 million, whichever is higher. That’s more than enough to destroy a brand or an entire business.

Schiappa recommends that partners show their customers where they’re going to get the biggest return on an investment. “With Sophos, we have such a broad portfolio of security, we can really cover gaps in their GDPR ecosystem,” says Schiappa.

Solution providers must be able to lean on cybersecurity vendors for technology and compliance tips, so they can become the “go-to” expert. As a company headquartered in the UK with operations around the world, Sophos is in a unique position to provide partners with security guidance on GDPR.

For more information on how Sophos can help your customers comply with GDPR, click here.