The inbox has been flooded with such emails over past few days informing users about changes in terms and conditions and privacy policy to adhere to General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law of European Union (EU) which came into effect from May 25.
Owing to this, many Indian firms having presence or links with EU have adhered to the new GDPR norms. Back home, the development has led to an increase in job postings for cybersecurity roles and data protection roles.
The data from Indeed India shows that job postings for cybersecurity roles went up by 150% while there was an increase of 129% in job searches for the same between January 2017 and March 2018.
There is also an increase in the number of job postings for Data Protection roles, which have seen an increase of 143%, while the number of job searches for the same has risen by 188% in the above mentioned period.
GDPR, which aims to protect all EU citizens from data breaches, provides for hefty penalties of up to €20 million or 4% of a company’s global revenue for non-compliance. This will cover all firms doing business in the EU.
For Indian IT companies, Europe is among the biggest markets. This will impact how firms will collect, manage, process and protect personal data while respecting individual choice.
Bengaluru accounts for 36% of all cybersecurity-related jobs in the country, followed by Mumbai at 17%, NCR at 12%, Pune at 9% and Hyderabad at 8%.
Sashi Kumar, managing director, Indeed India, said, “Companies across the world are gearing up to ensure compliance with GDPR and ePrivacy requirements. While the larger technology giants are more or less equipped to comply, it is the mid-size and smaller firms that are seeking professionals to help them cope with the requirements the new laws entail.”
Meanwhile, Indian government is in the midst of formulating a data protection law which is expected to be ready in the next few months.
Anant Maheshwari, president, Microsoft India, in a blog on the company’s website, says that GDPR is a tectonic shift in the global privacy paradigm and it will herald a new era in consumer trust.
“This is a golden opportunity for India to drive thought leadership in the global market...One merely has to look around to witness how fast India is making strides in its journey towards cloud migration. With millions going online for the first time, protecting their vulnerabilities cannot be compromised in our long march forward. The Supreme Court of India demonstrated its commitment to its citizens when it declared privacy a fundamental right last year, and now the onus is upon us as an industry to play our part,” Maheshwari said.
HIGH DEMAND
The data from Indeed India shows that job postings for cybersecurity roles went up by 150%
There was an increase of 129% in job searches for the same between January 2017 and March 2018