Cybersecurity threats are also a major concern, reports Association of Corporate Counsel
Data breaches are the top data-related concern for chief legal officers (CLOs) this year, revealed a recent survey conducted by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC).
The 2024 ACC Chief Legal Officers Survey, which gauged the perspectives of CLOs on various challenges, found that 34 percent of respondents saw data breaches as the most significant data threat that they should address. Privacy and regulatory enforcement (32 percent) and other cybersecurity threats (24 percent) followed this concern.
As organizations continue to face emerging data risks, 40 percent of CLOs reported plans to implement new processes to bolster their defences against these challenges, the survey showed.
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Even with these investments and efforts in mitigating data-related threats, only nine percent of CLOs said that they were “very confident” that their organizations could mitigate these data risks. This figure marked the lowest level of confidence recorded in the past five years, noted an article of the ACC Docket.
The survey highlighted several barriers that impeded CLOs’ ability to respond effectively to litigation, privacy, and compliance obligations, with 33 percent of respondents identifying shifting regulations and difficulties in understanding these obligations as the most significant obstacles.
Among the survey’s respondents, 24 percent cited insufficient staffing as a key barrier to meeting these obligations. Furthermore, 20 percent of CLOs pointed to the absence of robust processes within their organizations as a significant hindrance.For 12 percent, budgetary constraints were the biggest hurdle to addressing these issues.
Stats by revenue and location
The survey also showed differences in the challenges faced by companies based on their revenue and geographic location. For CLOs at companies with revenues of US$1 billion or more, inadequate technology (8.1 percent) was a more prevalent concern compared to budgetary limitations (6.6 percent).
In contrast, CLOs from companies with revenues under US$1 billion were more inclined to highlight budgetary constraints (13.4 percent) as a bigger impediment to fulfilling their privacy, compliance, and litigation responsibilities than insufficient technology (5.4 percent), the survey revealed.
Geographically, non-U.S. CLOs were more likely to report understaffing as a barrier compared with their U.S. counterparts, with 28.3 percent of non-U.S. CLOs citing this issue versus 22.2 percent of U.S. CLOs, said the survey.
Among the survey’s respondents, U.S. CLOs (12.6 percent) reported slightly higher concerns, compared with those outside the U.S. (10 percent), regarding the lack of budget. On the other hand, 32.5 percent among both U.S. and non-U.S. CLOs identified changing regulations or difficulties in understanding obligations as their primary challenge.
