9 in 10 firms unprepared to protect their data

Even if 70% of bosses are worried about data privacy compliance.

Only 10% of Singapore firms have plans to protect their information by preparing for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), EY said.

This is despite 70% of their bosses are expressing increasing concern about data protection and data privacy compliance, it revealed in its Global Forensic Data Analytics Survey.

EY Asean fraud investigation and dispute services leader Reuben Khoo said, "Whilst organizations in Singapore show growing concerns on data privacy compliance, many may not be aware of the immense extraterritorial reach of GDPR, its requirements and implications for data breach."

Meanwhile, 13% said they are already using robotic process automation (RPA) to manage legal, compliance and fraud risks. As well, a further 51% of Singapore respondents (global 38%) stated they are likely to adopt artificial intelligence within the next 12 months, followed by RPA at 43%.

Nearly half or 48% of Singapore respondents believe that data protection and data privacy regulations have a significant impact on the design or use of FDA.

The survey further revealed that just 11% of Singapore respondents indicated that they currently use FDA to achieve GDPR compliance, with 33% currently in the process of analyzing exactly which FDA tools they would use to assist them with achieving compliance.

The survey examined the responsed of 40 executives in Singapore.