23 April 2021 Protecting consumer data is key – but organisations must do more to show it Stephen Bradford, senior vice-president EMEA at SailPoint, discusses how organisations can do more to protect consumer data Customer data is more vulnerable than ever due to a rise in cyber attacks. The past year has confirmed that the digital age is now a fundamental part of our everyday reality. But with a record £479 million lost to increasingly sophisticated online scams in the UK alone last year, protecting consumer data from cyber criminals has never been more critical. That’s why the recent exposure of 530 million Facebook users’ data – including 11 million in the UK – should be a massive wake up call for consumers and organisations alike. The sheer scale of the breach highlights the importance, and vulnerability, of customers’ privacy, particularly at the hands of big corporations. The role of online platforms in protecting customer data must evolve – and this requires governance of existing consumer data and a reduced requirement for its collection.