Privacy is now mission critical across the globe, reports Cisco

Cisco released its 2022 Data Privacy Benchmark Study, a yearly worldwide review of privacy business policies that focuses on the impact of privacy on enterprises and their attitudes toward data privacy.

According to the 2022 research, privacy is mission-critical, with 90% considering it a business essential. The survey showed privacy investment continues to rise and organizations see a high return on investments from privacy spending.

Privacy has become a true business imperative and a critical component of customer trust for organizations around the world. For the second year in a row, 90 percent of the respondents said they would not buy from an organization that does not properly protect its data, and 91 percent indicated that external privacy certifications are important in their buying process.  

“The study shows that privacy is increasingly becoming a fundamental responsibility for security professionals. This year, findings show that aligning privacy with security generates financial and other benefits,” said Fady Younes, Cybersecurity Director – Cisco Middle East and Africa. “Privacy continues to rise in importance for organizations, regardless of their size or location,” Younes added. 

Privacy’s Return on Investment (ROI) remains high for the third straight year, with increased benefits for small to medium size organizations. More than 60 percent of respondents felt they were getting significant business value from privacy, especially when it comes to reducing sales delays, mitigating losses from data breaches, enabling innovation, achieving efficiency, building trust with customers, and making their company more attractive.

On average, respondents estimate their ROI to be 1.8 times their investment. While this remains quite appealing, it is slightly lower than last year (1.9 times spending). This might be attributed to continued demands in reacting to the epidemic, adjusting to new regulations, uncertainty about international data transfers, and rising need for data localisation.

Privacy legislation continues to be very well received around the world even though complying with these laws often involves significant effort and cost (e.g., cataloging data, maintaining records of processing activities, implementing controls – privacy by design, responding to user requests). Eighty-three percent of all corporate respondents said privacy laws have had a positive impact, and only 3 percent indicated the laws have had a negative impact.

As governments and corporations continue to demand greater data security, they are enforcing data localization standards. According to 92% of poll respondents, this has become an essential problem for their firms. However, it comes at a cost: 88 percent of respondents across all countries reported that localization requirements add considerable cost to their business.

Finally, when it comes to data use, 92 percent of survey respondents acknowledge that their company has a duty to only utilise data responsibly. Almost as many (87%) feel businesses currently have systems in place to guarantee automated decision-making meets client expectations. Nonetheless, according to Cisco’s 2021 Consumer Privacy Survey, many people want more openness, and 56 percent are concerned about the usage of data in AI and automated decision-making. Forty-six percent of questioned customers believe they are unable to appropriately secure their data, owing mostly to a lack of understanding of what businesses gather and do with their data.