WATCH: Future-proofing cybersecurity and data privacy... in 2018

What are the most important developments in the data privacy and security area banks should prepare for this year?

With increasingly strict data protection regulations having recently come into force and recent ransomware attacks bringing cyber security and data protection to the forefront, banks will need to do everything they can to prepare for 2018.

Banks will need to ensure that their legal teams are thinking and acting in an international context.

They will need to formulate a forward-thinking plan to balance domestic or local compliance with international compliance.

Legal teams need to be aware of all of the international aspects of privacy, especially with regards to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came out in May, or potential cyber security regulations in New York.

Banks should dedicate extra resources to deal with the increasing amounts of data protection regulation, to help avoid substantial fines.

Failure to comply with the GDPR, for example, could lead to fines of up to 4% of the company's global annual turnover of the previous year.

Banks also need to be forward thinking in order to remain vigilant against the threat of cyber attacks, including data breach and data manipulation.

Data protection best practice is constantly changing, and banks will need to constantly ensure that they are following up-to-date advice, and that the procedures they have in place are still correct.

Banks need to guarantee that they are doing enough to safeguard their client's data, as they can be held responsible if client's data is hacked.

Next steps

Take advantage of the far-reaching changes brought about by the GDPR with our European Privacy Tool, which offers realistic, practical and workable insights as well as templates, helping to ensure that you are successful in meeting the applicable regulatory requirements.