Only one in four businesses in Bermuda that took part in a survey have a Personal Information Protection Act readiness plan, and more than a third are unsure how much they will need to spend on a privacy programme.

KPMG in Bermuda, in collaboration with the Privacy Commissioner, conducted a privacy readiness survey to access the markets’ awareness and readiness for the privacy regulation.

The survey covered both international and local businesses ranging across industries including insurance, financial services, and banking.

KPMG said technology is constantly developing, products are changing, and this had resulted in organisations collecting more and more data. In addition, the Covid-19 pandemic accelerated these changes and the dependency on technology increased.

The changing landscape has brought on new challenges, ranging from implementation and costs of a privacy programme, to areas of the Bermuda Personal Information Protection Act that the market expects to be most difficult to address, KPMG said.

All those who responded to the survey believed privacy regulation was good for Bermuda as a community. Some 75 per cent of respondents do not have a PIPA readiness plan, and 35 per cent were unsure how much they will need to spend on a privacy programme.

KPMG noted that some of the responses may be because guidance has yet to be issued on all aspects of PIPA, which will not come into full force before the end of this year.

Half of all respondents do not want to make any new hires that are solely privacy related. KPMG said: “This makes sense for a smaller business that processes small amounts of personal data, or for businesses that believe they already have talented privacy professionals in house. Some 15 per cent of respondents do plan to make privacy related hires. Privacy professionals can have a variety of roles within the organisation and can help enhance your business objectives.”

Commenting on the survey, Alexander White, Bermuda’s privacy commissioner, said: “This privacy readiness survey provides welcome insight into our community’s perceptions of the importance of data privacy and how to make it a reality. Our office’s annual goals already focused on the need for training and awareness events and further guidance for setting up a privacy programme, and we will evaluate these aggregate results to ensure we take on board the community’s thoughts and opinions. We offer our thanks to the KPMG team, particularly Katy Gloth who spearheaded the effort.”

Ian Gardner, director at KPMG in Bermuda, said: “Increasing remote working and technology disruption, features of the last year, have increased the sharing of personal information and complexity of models in which such data is shared domestically and internationally. Coupled with the regulatory focus on the protection and privacy of personal data, makes our survey valuable for insights on the impact, awareness and readiness for the Act.”

The full report of the privacy survey results is at https://bit.ly/3yq4NPU