June 20, 2016
Companies should be fined if they fail to guard against cyber attacks, MPs have recommended in the wake of last year’s TalkTalk hack.
The Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee inquiry made a number of recommendations, but stopped short of suggesting that criminal proceedings should apply to employees who fail to protect people’s data.
The committee also recommended that CEOs’ pay should be linked to effective cyber security; that it should be easier for consumers to get compensation if they are the victim of a hack; and that the Government should conduct a public awareness campaign about online and telephone scams or phishing.
Companies should also be fined for delays in reporting breaches into their systems.
Committee chair Jesse Norman told Sky News: “Our report today I think is a giant wake up call for industry generally because what that showed (the TalkTalk hack) is that even very sophisticated companies in the telecoms area were not invulnerable to attacks.”