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"As long as companies in the UK continue to do business with those in the EU, and they will, then GDPR will still need to be addressed. And, regardless of the regulation, the impetus for it - the need to ensure that sensitive information, personal information is secure - remains."

For his part, Simon Crosby, CTO and co-founder of Bromium, laments the fact that what he refers to as the "incredible technical talent" in the UK "just became a lot cheaper for foreign countries to hire".

Sadly, he says, "they will suffer, as their standard of living drops, and their opportunity to live and work in other countries in Europe is restricted. Ultimately, I expect many of them to leave the UK permanently for countries that will pay what they are worth, such as the USA".

And there is another longer-term worry, Crosby adds. "Over a third of research funding for universities in the UK comes from the EU. In the absence of new funding from the UK government, there will be a huge impact on universities' ability to deliver highly skilled tech workers to the UK economy."

GDPR WILL STILL APPLY
Now that UK voters have decided to escape the EU, does that in any way free them up from the demands of the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation)? Not really," says Andy Green, technical specialist at Varonis. "As many observers have pointed out, the GDPR applies even to companies or 'data controllers' outside the EU. This is the extra-territoriality nature of this data law [see article 3 of the regulations]. So, if UK-based web sites collect personal data from, say, a Dutch or French person, the GDPR still applies. And for UK companies with subsidiaries (and therefore data controllers) within the EU, and that try to get out of the GDPR by outsourcing processing to the UK, the GDPR, again, would still apply."

Why? "Under the GDPR, the UK would have to be an 'approved country' (with adequate data protection), in order for EU personal data to be transferred out of the zone. In other words, the UK local data laws would have to be up to snuff and at the same level as the GDPR.

"UK companies doing business in the UK, collecting only personal data of UK citizens, will be covered by the current Data Protection Act, which is basically the EU Data Protection Directive (DPD), the law of land in the EU now," Green adds. "The UK's local data laws are, and will likely be in the future, close to the current GDPR. In short, large UK-based multinationals will still have to deal directly with the GDPR and local UK companies will be under a GDPR-like local data law."

INCREASED CYBER ATTACKS
Brexit will have impact on the security industry as a whole, of course, but it is too early to speculate on this being positive or negative, suggests Aftab Afzal, SVP & GM EMEA at NSFOCUS International Business Division. "The coming weeks and months will be a telling time. Cyber security is a global challenge and not EU specific. With the vote being so close, the unrest will translate into some increased cyber attacks - and organisations at the forefront should take extra caution. As many cyber security vendors report dollar revenues, currency market volatility could see some prices increased."

He doesn't foresee any big short term changes in cross-border collaboration in cyber security. "Longer term, the vendors with global research teams who contribute to intelligence communities will play a bigger role in cooperation, as cyber security has always been a global issue. GDPR is just one of many compliance drivers that ensure sensitive and personal data is handled with care. Compliance is born from best practices and when, or if, the UK mandates a new data policy, the main tenets of GDPR will no doubt be considered, as the government has to ensure the public safety, both physically and virtually." POSITIVE IMPACT
Frost & Sullivan is already working with its clients to assess, review and plan strategically for the future to create a positive impact on the economy and society. "As we all know, Brexit is likely to take a minimum of two years to materialise, with the process for withdrawal from the EU expected to start when Article 50 of the Treaty of Lisbon is triggered. Once the intention of separation is formalised, Britain will begin to negotiate withdrawal terms with EU member states on issues such as trade tariffs, and the movement of UK and EU citizens; in effect, laying the ground for its redefined relationship with the EU," says the analyst.

Senior partner and managing director for Europe, Sarwant Singh, admits that, given that the UK is the first member state to leave the EU, there is uncertainty regarding the path ahead. This could trigger a dip in business sentiment and delays in FDI (Foreign Direct Investments). "On a positive note, however, Brexit could pave the way for Britain to expand trade relations with the rest of the world beyond the EU and this would especially help mitigate risks arising from excessive reliance on one trading partner."

PASSPORTING RIGHTS
Looking at the UK financial sector, senior partner Gary Jeffery admits that "there may be risks, if financial institutions lose passporting rights, which presently allow for the sale of services across EU states without the need to secure local regulator approval".

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