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Cyber Newsletter - November 2022

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Published 14 November 2022

Overview

On 10 November 2022, we held our fifth annual DACB Data Protection & Cyber Conference. We brought together 18 experts from our team and welcomed 5 guest speakers.

With so much change taking place and on the horizon, the theme of this year’s conference was “evolution or revolution? Where are we now and where are we going?”

Despite the Government consultation, draft Data Protection and Digital Information Bill and political headlines, we still have (for the moment at least) a regime which has not changed, at least from the perspective of enforceable legislation. There is however change on the horizon, although it is yet to be seen if that will be evolution or revolution.

Beyond core data protection legislation such as the UK GDPR and DPA 2018, we are seeing evolution of legislative focus to include broader data categories than those which fall within the definition of “personal data”. The EU Data Package is a good example of this.

Of course change doesn’t just occur as a result of a change in the law itself. Evolution (or revolution) can be more subtle and is often driven by other factors.

  • The regulator has a key role in driving change and we can learn a lot from the focus of its guidance and enforcement activities.
  • The courts have an important role to play and this year we have seen case law impact the trajectory of low value data breach claims.
  • The development of technology often outpaces the law and we are seeing this with developments such as artificial intelligence and the metaverse. However, as with privacy enhancing technologies, it can also be utilised to contribute to good data protection governance.
  • Finally, an organisation’s own individual experience will have a significant impact on its data protection and cyber governance framework. No incident seems to bring about as much focus as a data breach.

Whilst we may not yet be able to determine if any change will be “evolution or revolution”, the view is likely to vary from organisation to organisation.

We would like to extend a special thank you to our guest speakers:

  • Emma Bate, Privacy Director, Information Commissioner’s Office
  • Elisabeth Bechtold, Global Lead AI Assurance & Data Governance, Zurich Insurance
  • Ian Russell, Police Detective Sergeant, Regional Cyber Crime Unit
  • Dr Alexander Beyer, Partner, BLD
  • Raf Sanchez, Global Head of Cyber Services, Beazley

 

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