--- title: Two key reasons behind 70% of GDPR breach fines | Exonar description: Find out what the two main reasons for 70% of GDPR breach fines across Europe, which have cost £313m, were caused by, in this research by Exonar. image: https://www.exonar.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202020-10-23%20at%2018.57.51.png --- [![Exonar](https://www.exonar.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Exonar_LogoTag_NOW.png?width=360&height=139&name=Exonar_LogoTag_NOW.png "Exonar")](https://exonar.com) - Product - [Exonar Reveal](https://www.exonar.com/exonar-reveal) - [How it Works](https://www.exonar.com/how-it-works) - [Security](https://www.exonar.com/security) - [Exonar Labs](https://www.exonar.com/exonar-labs) - [Services](https://www.exonar.com/services) - Who it's for - [Information Security](https://www.exonar.com/information-security) - [Governance, Risk & Compliance](https://www.exonar.com/privacy-and-gdpr-compliance) - [Strategic IT & Operations](https://www.exonar.com/strategic-it-and-operations) - [Customers](https://www.exonar.com/case-studies/) - [Partners](https://www.exonar.com/partners) - Resources - [Exonar Blog](https://www.exonar.com/blog) - [Toolkits](https://www.exonar.com/toolkits) - [Guides](https://www.exonar.com/guides) - [Webinars & Demos](https://www.exonar.com/webinars-and-demos) - [About Us](https://www.exonar.com/about-us) - [Careers](https://www.exonar.com/careers) - [Contact](https://www.exonar.com/contact) Sign In [Ready to talk?](https://www.exonar.com/ready-to-talk) # Analysis reveals two key reasons behind 70% of GDPR breach fines by [Anna Cotton](https://www.exonar.com/blog/author/anna-cotton) On September 30, 2020 Blog Category: [Exonar in the News](https://www.exonar.com/blog/tag/exonar-in-the-news) ![x-icon](https://www.exonar.com/hubfs/x-icon-2.png) New analysis from [Exonar](https://www.exonar.com/) has revealed that organisations across Europe have suffered GDPR fines to the tune of £313m by failing to have appropriate security in place and storing unsecured data. ![](https://www.exonar.com/hubfs/Screenshot%202020-10-23%20at%2018.57.51.png) New analysis from [Exonar](https://www.exonar.com/) has revealed that organisations across Europe have suffered GDPR fines to the tune of £313m\* for two key reasons: 1. Failing to have appropriate security in place 2. Storing unsecured data. So far 50 GDPR penalties totalling £482m\* have been issued under GDPR, with the vast majority (almost 65%) down to these two key issues. To see at a glance how the fines break down, [scroll down to see our Infographic below](https://www.exonar.com/blog/reason-behind-gdpr-breach-fines#GDPR_research_infographic). Exonar’s analysis shows that 39% of GDPR related fines were the result of insufficient security, with affected companies including British Airways, Active Assurances and DSK Bank. These fines have totalled £188,865,900 to date. *(As at 16th October 2020, the ICO reduced British Airways fine to £20m, a reduction of £163m from the original fine.) * [Unsecured and over-retained data](https://www.exonar.com/guides/three-ways-to-avoid-high-profile-gdpr-fines)was responsible for 26% of GDPR breach penalties totalling £123,663,350, from high-profile organisations such as Marriott, as well as Deutsche Wohnen and 1&1 Telecom. (Marriott's fine was similarly reduced by the ICO to £18.4m, an 81% reduction.) Unlawful use of personally identifiable information (PII) and failure to comply with Subject Access Requests (SARs), such as in the case of Vodafone and Google, was responsible for 19% of fines totalling £92,055,300. The remaining 16% totalled £77,135,050 and comprised a range of issues, such as Uber’s failure to report a breach fast enough, Unicredit’s incorrect sharing of data and H&M’s massive £32m fine this month for unlawful use of employee data. > “[Nearly 65% of GDPR fines were caused because of insufficient security and storing unsecured data](https://www.exonar.com/guides/three-ways-to-avoid-high-profile-gdpr-fines). Securing your data first can play a vital role in not only meeting GDPR standards but also help mitigate the risk of the insufficient security - as it will be harder for hackers to access any data in the event of a breach.” > > “Many organisations simply don’t know what data they’ve got, or how much over-retained data they hold because it is no longer visible. Dark data like this is a point of weakness in any organisation – and in order to fully secure the data, organisations need to first get a clear understanding of what data they hold.” > > Danny Reeves, CEO, Exonar \* This is the original fine total. Since then, two major fines for BA and Marriott have been massively reduced as of October 2020.    ![GDPR_Research_Infographic](https://www.exonar.com/hs-fs/hubfs/GDPR_Research_Infographic.png?width=2291&name=GDPR_Research_Infographic.png)   - [mailto:?body=https://www.exonar.com/blog/reason-behind-gdpr-breach-fines](mailto:?body=https://www.exonar.com/blog/reason-behind-gdpr-breach-fines) ![quote icon-2](https://www.exonar.com/hs-fs/hubfs/quote%20icon-2.png?width=28&name=quote%20icon-2.png) Exonar’s analysis shows that 39% of GDPR related fines were the result of insufficient security, with affected companies including British Airways, Active Assurances and DSK Bank. These fines have totalled £188,865,900 to date." (Until the massive reduction of BA's fine in October 2020.) ### Want to try Exonar on your data?  Get a FREE 2-week test drive.   [![DISCOVER MORE](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/6113045/794ac170-0a98-4d4c-bc1a-c94aefae79cb.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/6113045/794ac170-0a98-4d4c-bc1a-c94aefae79cb)   --- ### Subscribe to Our Newsletter Get the latest product updates, company news, and insight delivered right to your inbox. ### Related articles #### Infographic: IT professionals disagree over their ability to keep businesses secure & remediate risk *By [Anna Cotton](https://www.exonar.com/blog/author/anna-cotton)  On August 24, 2021* IT Teams and C-Suite executives have differing views when it comes to the perception of how... 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