Keep an Eye on GDPR This Year as It Becomes More Stringent

 

Discussing the GDPR regulatory agencies' fines from the previous year and the actions you can take this year to improve your GDPR game


$1.25 billion – that's the amount imposed by the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as fines on companies in 2021 for violating the EU citizens' and companies' privacy and security. The penalties increased from roughly $180 million a year earlier, even though the number of data breaches reported to regulators decreased by 8% to 356 each day on average.


However, as Arlen Specter pointed out, "effective security measures do not come cheap." This is why, until November of last year, 36% of firms had no "clear contingency plan in place to mount a response" to a cyberattack, whereas 66% of small businesses are still most concerned about compromising client data.


Regardless, while most standards are particularly relevant to managed service providers (MSPs) and software vendors since they have access to data from a wide range of enterprises, they apply to all businesses. And, even though the standards are more stringent than anticipated, firms will still be required to take security measures in compliance with the mighty GDPR if they want to continue doing business in the EU.


While there is no simple way to crack the GDPR, a modest checklist of actions can help enterprises get a long way from where they are now in terms of security and compliance.


Complying with GDPR

  • Categorize your data: You must categorize the data you collect and explain why you collected each category. Each processor's and controller's identities and contact information, as well as information on and data transfers, shall be preserved in these categories' records.

  • List out the purposes of the data: This list should include the names and contact information of the data controller and data protection officer. On request, this list should be written (or in electronic form) and made available to a compliance officer. It's also a good idea to describe your privacy compliance rationale for processing the data, who has access to it, and how it's organized.

  • Legally justify your processing of data: Article 6 of the GDPR outlines the legal basis for data processing, which includes consent from the person whose data is being processed. Make it easy for your data subjects to withdraw their consent at any time if consent is your justification.

  • Build a privacy policy for your customers: You must publish a clear and simple-to-understand privacy policy to your consumers, which should be straightforward to read and grasp. You must explain why you are collecting their information, what you intend to do with it, and who will have access to it - as well as how it will be safeguarded.

  • Build internal security and remediation plan: When feasible, PII should be encrypted or anonymized, and your employees should get thorough data privacy compliance and security training. Conduct impact assessments and develop a plan for notifying authorities or individuals in the case of a breach.

  • Appoint a GDPR compliance office: A GDPR compliance officer oversees making sure the EU's data protection standards are obeyed. This person should be an internal employee aware of GDPR requirements and can assess data processing guidelines. You will also need to choose an EU-based representative if your firm is headquartered outside the EU.

  • Sign data processing agreements with third parties vendors: If you collaborate with other organizations that will have access to your customers' personal data stored in the compliant management system, you must sign an agreement outlining each party's duties in terms of GDPR compliance.

  • Make accessing their data for consumers easy: Customers must be able to easily view what information you have on them if you gather personal information from them. If you use automated technologies to make decisions for individuals, you should provide them the option of requesting human oversight or contesting the decision. Customers can also request that their PII be removed or that you stop processing their information.


To conclude, new data privacy compliance laws regularly develop, particularly as the way organizations process data advances, making compliance difficult for many companies. And businesses may get away with applying GDPR standards for a while, but they will still be governed by other laws like HIPAA, CCPA compliance, SEC 17 a-4, and others. As a result, it is only logical to begin now and improve your compliance game over time.

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