60% of Irish SMEs not taking proper data protection steps - study

Report from .IE shows pandemic has accelerated Ireland’s move towards cashless transactions

62 per cent of consumers saying they used cash either significantly or somewhat less since the onset of Covid-19. Picture: Getty

Six in 10 Irish SMEs take no particular steps to protect customer data despite a majority of consumers being concerned about the security of their personal information when shopping online.

A new report from .IE in partnership with Digital Business Ireland has found that only 15 per cent of SMEs use a firewall or antivirus software, only 11 per cent use two-factor authentication while just 4 per cent said they train staff in cybersecurity practice.