Security News > 2021 > January > Privacy budgets soared in 2020, doubling to an average of $2.4 million
Data privacy has become a top area of responsibility for security professionals, and 34% of respondents to a survey indicated privacy is one of their core competencies and responsibilities.
Ahead of Data Privacy Day on Jan. 28, Cisco's 2021 Data Privacy Benchmark Report also finds that 74% of more than 4,400 security professionals surveyed last summer from 25 countries saw a direct correlation between privacy investments and the ability to mitigate security losses.
Perhaps not surprisingly, privacy budgets doubled in 2020 to an average of $2.4 million, and organizations now have more resources focused on privacy, according to the Cisco report.
The pandemic has had a significant impact on the way people work and do things, "Which puts a lot of stress on organizations" in terms of how they think about and share information about the coronavirus, said Robert Waitman, Cisco's director of data privacy.
Further, 60% said they were concerned that privacy protection of tools they were being asked to use "Are not up to snuff so it's a heavy lift for organizations to get there and privacy teams were called on to get their act together."
The research also found that data privacy became a top area of responsibility for security professionals with 34% of respondents stating that privacy is one of their core competencies.