The majority of the UK’s SMEs are not prioritising better online security in the next 12 months, despite the impending impact of the EU’s new data protection legislation, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which takes effect within two years reports funding firm Close Brothers.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has confirmed that: “If the UK wants to trade with the single market on equal terms we would have to prove ‘adequacy’ – in other words UK data protection standards would have to be equivalent to the EU’s GDPR framework starting in 2018.”

The finding forms part of Close Brothers’ quarterly survey of UK SME owners.

Visitors to the W16-Elements show in October can meet the Close Brothers team on stand C410.