With nearly 3 billion new connected devices powering on this year, data privacy in 2018 is already looking complicated. Here are some key data privacy developments poised to unfold, according to Evident, the leading cybersecurity solution for managing personal data:
1. Shortage of data security skills continues: The shortage of cybersecurity professionals will grow larger, building toward more than 1.5 million unfilled openings.
2. Biometric technology use increases: Increasing numbers of users will take advantage of biometric data security systems, such as fingerprint analysis and facial recognition, which were installed in more than 1 billion devices in 2017.
3. Gig economy grows: The freelancer population, which constitutes more than one-quarter of the U.S. workforce, will continue to expand.
4. Blockchain adoption rises: Businesses worldwide will invest $2.1 billion into enterprise-grade open ledger technology in 2018.
5. User trust declines: Individuals will abandon their trust in enterprise data security operations and more judiciously distribute their data. Nearly two-thirds of American adults have experienced a major data breach.
6. The GDPR is in full effect: On May 25, the European Union began enforcing the General Data Protection Regulation. Companies that fail to comply with GDPR can face fines of up to 20 million Euros or 4 percent of their total global annual turnover, whichever is greater.
