2:17 pm, February 2, 2023
Data protection rules have created an ‘industry of fraudsters and scammers’ and it impossible for dealers to be completely protected, Robin Luscombe has said.
Speaking to last week’s episode of the Car Dealer Podcast, the Luscombe Motors boss said it was unfair that dealers, like Arnold Clark, are criticised when targeted by Hackers.
The Car Dealer Used Car Awards Lifetime Achievement Award Winner said that companies are powerless to stop cyber criminals from hacking into their websites, regardless of how much they invest in security.
He also called for more understanding from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) when dishing out fines to firm’s which have suffered data breaches.
The 61-year-old said: ‘Through GDPR rules, we’ve actually created an industry of fraudsters and scammers.
‘Because this data is so valuable, and the fines are so heavy it has just opened it up for people to go in and nick the data.
‘If you speak to a cybersecurity specialist, there is not one of them that can guarantee that you can be cyber secure.
‘They’ll just charge you a fortune for doing everything they possibly can to try and stop some clever bloke in Siberia hacking into your computer because he’s a geek.
‘I actually think we need a we need a different approach because it’s not the dealer’s fault if he’s done reasonable steps to make his data secure, and then gets fined by the ICO for data breach.
‘If we go back to before computers, because I can remember that far back, there was no problem. There was no data breaches, there was no GDPR because your data wasn’t anywhere.
‘You didn’t put this, that and the other online, you used cash and checks and things. This is a major, major problem that’s only going to get worse.
‘Just trying to add more security just adds more cost without any guarantees, because whatever invents another form of security, there’s somebody else that’s going to unpick their way around it because there’s that much money involved in it.’
Luscombe was speaking before today’s news that Arnold Clark has admitted hackers have stolen customers’ personal data.
In a note to customers, chief executive Eddie Hawthorne told customers that their names, dates of birth, vehicle information, contact details and National Insurance numbers may also have been compromised.
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