The evolution of the internet is going to be a significant change, and the whole world is curious to explore the undiscovered realm of Web3.0. The current state of the internet is described as Web 2.0, which has more user-generated data. The major problem users face while surfing the internet is less control over their data. There are many laws and regulations to safeguard user’s data, and one of the crucial regulations is General Data Protection Regulation.
What is General Data Protection Regulation?
General Data Protection Regulation defines information security as a component of data protection. It focuses primarily on the rights of the data subject. It occasionally follows a risk-based approach to detect the risk to the rights and freedom of the data subject.
It is the heart of the European Union. The GDPR is a regulation that aims to safeguard data and privacy, providing more power to people. It provides greater security and allows the users to decide how their information can be used by organizations. It affects business models that collect and store large amounts of personal information.
Which industries can go for General Data Protection Regulation?
The following sectors require GDPR compliance:
- Service industry, mainly digital banking
- Information Technology
- Social media
- Healthcare
- Cloud computing
- Online retail
- Educational institutions
Why is General Data Protection Regulation important?
General Data Protection Regulation is one of the most demanding security laws and regulations. It was adopted by the European Parliament in 2016 and replaced the data protection directive. It requires an organization to comply with all the laws and regulations, and any non-compliance will be subject to penalties and fines.
GDPR fines are divided into two categories:
- Lighter offences where an organization has to pay 2% of the company’s annual revenue from the previous financial year
- Severe infringements may cost up to 4% of the company’s annual revenue from the previous year.
Checklist for GDPR compliance
GDPR requires Information Technology companies to adopt a holistic approach to assure data safety and demonstrate compliance with laws and regulations. The GDPR compliance checklist is as follows:
- Prepare for GDPR compliance Certificate
- Define your personal data policy
- Create a list of processing activities
- Define a process to manage data subject rights
- Implement a data protection impact assessment (DPIA)
- Secure personal data transfer
- Amend third-party contracts
- Secure sensitive personal data
- Define how to handle data breaches
A Guide for GDPR Compliance
- Prepare for GDPR compliance Certificate – An organization needs to create a project plan for implementing GDPR obligations. It requires conducting a readiness assessment to determine the tasks that need to be done before proceeding with the GDPR certificate and ensures the involvement of all the stakeholders.
- Define your personal data policy – An organization must have its personal data policy and additional policies, such as a Data retention policy. The top-level management plays a crucial role in the successful implementation of any policy, and it needs to communicate the vision, mission and objectives among all the employees.
. An organization can also hire a Data Protection Officer (DPO). DPO is an independent entity and a data protection expert responsible for an organization’s GDPR compliance.
- Create a list of processing activities – It requires creating a list of all the processing activities and extensively describing the lawful basis for each processing activity to implement data subject rights. Confirms that an organization publishes a transparent and easy-to-understand notice related to the privacy of the data subjects.
- Define a process to manage data subject rights – It protects the right of the data subject and requires an organization to take cookie consent before processing and storing their personal data. It also mandates to explain how the data is to be used, how long it will be used and stored and gives authority to the data subjects to opt out whenever they want.
- Implement a data protection impact assessment (DPIA) – Before initiating data processing that will store data permanently, the DPO should conduct a data protection impact assessment. It keeps a check on the business processes and ways in which it can affect the privacy of the data subjects.
- Secure personal data transfer– Before sharing the personal data of the users with a third party, the organization requires to take necessary legal and security measures to protect data.
- Amend third-party contracts– It ensures that all the third-party contracts that are related to data processing of personal data comply with GDPR.
- Secure sensitive personal data– It follows three steps to ensure personal data safety:
- Forming an Information security policy
- Using encryption wherever required
- Implementation of basic technical controls
- Define how to handle data breaches– General Data Protection Regulation requires to report data breaches within 72 hours to the local data protection authorities. An organization must have effective tools to detect and respond to data breaches.
Conclusion
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation of the European Union that ensures a mechanism for data privacy and information protection in Europe. GDPR Certification provides users more authority over their data and mandates companies to safeguard users’ information. This regulation has been effective from May 25, 2018.
GDPR creates a right to data portability, helping you to export and re-import your data. It safeguards privacy as data shared with one service provider is transportable to another. It also enhances security by providing individuals control over their data while assuring that businesses do not use personal information without consent.
