Research Shows Companies Invested Millions of Dollars in Privacy in 2014

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- As the number of data breaches in the U.S. reached 708 in 2014, new research published today shows that companies are investing millions in privacy and multiple business units are now involved in addressing growing consumer concerns and compliance risks.

The findings are from an independent survey commissioned by TRUSTe amongst 200 privacy professionals at companies with more than 1000 employees. Results showed that 30% of organizations budgeted more than $1 million in privacy in 2014. Notably, 71% of respondents cited that data privacy management was "very important" or "important" to their company, signifying a strong focus on privacy investment in the majority of organizations in the upcoming year.

Additional highlights from the survey include:

• 30% of organizations budgeted more than $1 million in privacy in 2014
• Nearly 4 out of 10 (39%) cited that 21 or more individuals in their organization are currently involved in privacy initiatives as their primary responsibility
• 7 out of 10 (71%) noted that data privacy management was "very important" or "important" to their company
• The budget for privacy management initiatives spanned across six different departments including Marketing, Compliance, Legal and Security/IT

These statistics reinforce the high priority of privacy investment at large enterprises. Findings from the International Association of Privacy Professionals' (IAPP) recent survey of Fortune 1000 Chief Privacy Officers indicated that privacy investment was likely to reach $3 billion over the next year with 38% of respondents indicating an estimated increase in budget of 34%.

"As the budgets to fund privacy initiatives continue to rise and now span across multiple business units, privacy investment is clearly becoming an important company-wide focus for organizations in 2015," said Chris Babel, CEO, TRUSTe. "New research from TRUSTe reaffirms that privacy is important for the majority of companies and they are investing millions in privacy to combat growing consumer concerns, build trust and reduce compliance risk."

To highlight the changes in privacy investment amongst organizations, Chris Babel will be joined by Sam Pfeifle, Publications Director of the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP) and Hilary Wandall, Associate VP, Compliance and Chief Privacy Officer of Merck & Co. Inc to present a webinar on privacy priorities for organizations in 2015.

The webinar "Privacy Priorities for 2015: Leading the Pack" will take place on December 16^th at 9am PT and will cover the following:

• Review IAPP & TRUSTe data for privacy staffing, organizational structure and budget
• Discuss peers' priorities for privacy investment in 2015
• Outline ways to differentiate a business through privacy best practices
• Provide the data and insight to evaluate privacy program plans and advocate for the budget, tools and internal relationships needed to succeed

Register here for the webinar.

About TRUSTe
TRUSTe is the leading global Data Privacy Management (DPM) company and powers trust in the data economy by enabling businesses to safely collect and use customer data across their customer, employee, and vendor channels. Our SaaS-based DPM Platform gives users control over all phases of data privacy management from conducting assessments and implementing compliance controls to managing ongoing monitoring. Our DPM Services, including assessments and certifications, are delivered by an expert team of privacy professionals. Thousands of companies worldwide rely on TRUSTe to minimize compliance risk and protect their brand.

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SOURCE TRUSTe

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