Greetings from Portsmouth, New Hampshire!
It’s hard to believe the Super Bowl is only two days away. As a football fan, it blows me away how quickly 20-plus weeks can fly by every year, but that’s life for you. As the world prepares to consume aggressive amounts of beer and buffalo chicken dip, they will be doing so while watching a tremendous game. The Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers are loaded with talent, and I’m expecting an instant classic. It’s a cliche, but I’m a firm believer in “defense wins championships,” and I think the 49ers are much better on that side of the ball. Final score: 49ers, 28; Chiefs, 24. I wouldn’t be surprised if Patrick Mahomes makes me eat my words, though.
Now that I have offered my lukewarm sports take, let’s gracefully transition to the world of privacy.
Cisco released its 2020 data privacy benchmark study earlier this week. In the report, the company found that for every $1 a company invested in privacy, they have, on average, received a return on investment of $2.70.
The study also revealed organizations with more mature privacy programs saw a higher ROI than those whose are less developed. Robert Waitman, a director in Cisco’s privacy office, told me the legislative landscape has allowed for positive ROI overall; however, there are certain circumstances that could result in drastic changes.
Waitman said ROI could plummet should organizations have to comply with a patchwork of 50 state privacy laws. Under those circumstances, privacy professionals will have to adhere to laws with contracting requirements and costs will ultimately skyrocket. On the other hand, a federal privacy law will likely result in an ROI surge. It’s just one more reason on top of many to pay attention to the news out of Capitol Hill.
Lawmakers continue to hammer away at a federal law. At the State of the Net conference in Washington, Senate and House committee members offered their insight into current negotiations. Congress wants to pass a law; however, they still have to agree upon state preemption and the private right of action. The journey is not at the beginning anymore, but it is also nowhere near the end.
A lot of eyes are glued onto our nation’s capital, and as the legislative stakes continue to develop, the gaze will only grow stronger.