The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a legal framework enacted by the European Union (EU) to regulate how the personal data of individuals in the EU is collected, processed, and stored. It came into effect on May 25, 2018, and aims to give individuals greater control over their personal information, setting stringent obligations for businesses to protect data privacy.
GDPR applies to any company that handles the data of individuals in the EU, regardless of whether the company itself is based in the EU. It fundamentally changes how companies are required to handle personal data, enforce transparency, and ensure accountability. The regulation also sets out hefty penalties for non-compliance, making it essential for employees to understand their roles in protecting data privacy.
Purpose of GDPR
The primary objective of GDPR is to safeguard the privacy rights of individuals. In today’s digital age, people leave behind a trail of personal data everywhere they go—whether they’re browsing websites, shopping online, or simply using social media. GDPR aims to regulate how organizations collect, use, and protect such data to:
Enhance individuals’ control over their personal data.
Ensure transparency in how organizations use data.
Prevent unauthorized access in addition to data breaches that could expose sensitive information.
In essence, GDPR places the individual at the center, requiring organizations to respect data privacy and be accountable for data management activities.
Enforcement of GDPR
GDPR is overseen by multiple entities:
Supervisory Authorities (SAs): These are independent public authorities in each EU member state. They enforce GDPR compliance, conduct investigations, and address complaints from individuals. Examples include the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in the UK and CNIL in France.
European Data Protection Board (EDPB): This is an independent body that ensures consistent application of GDPR across EU member states. It issues guidelines, recommendations, and advises the European Commission on related matters.
Data Protection Officers (DPOs): Many companies must appoint a DPO, whose responsibility is to ensure GDPR compliance within the organization, conduct audits, and act as the point of contact with supervisory authorities.
Key Provisions of GDPR
GDPR sets out several fundamental principles and provisions to govern the processing of personal data:
Lawfulness, Fairness, and Transparency: Data must be collected and processed in a way that is lawful, fair, and transparent to the individual. The individual must understand why their data is being collected and how it will be used.
Purpose Limitation: Data must be sourced for a specific, explicit purpose and should not be processed in any manner that is incompatible with that purpose.
Data Minimization: The data collected must be limited to what is necessary for the intended purpose.
Accuracy: Data must be kept up to date and it must be accurate. Organizations must take reasonable steps to erase or correct inaccurate data.
Storage Limitation: Personal data should not be kept longer than is necessary for its intended purpose. GDPR encourages organizations to establish data retention schedules.
Integrity and Confidentiality: Data processing should be done in a manner that ensures the appropriate level of security, including protection against unauthorized access, accidental loss, or damage.
Accountability: Organizations must demonstrate compliance with GDPR principles. This means maintaining records of data processing activities, implementing security measures, and ensuring staff training.
Rights of Individuals under GDPR
GDPR grants several rights to individuals, giving them more control over their personal data:
Right to Access: Individuals have the right to know what personal data is being processed and for what purpose. They can also request a copy of their data.
Right to Rectification: Individuals can ask to have incorrect or incomplete data corrected.
Right to Erasure (The Right to be Forgotten): Individuals can request their personal data to be deleted when it is no longer necessary for the purpose it was collected, or if consent is withdrawn.
Right to Restrict Processing: Individuals can ask for the processing of their data to be restricted if they question the accuracy of the data or object to its processing.
Right to Data Portability: Individuals can receive their personal data in a commonly used and structured format and transfer it to another data controller.
Right to Object: Individuals can raise an objection to the processing of their data, particularly in the case of direct marketing.
Rights in Relation to Automated Decision-Making: GDPR restricts decisions made solely on automated processing, including profiling, if it significantly affects individuals.
Industries impacted by GDPR
GDPR applies across industries that handle the personal data of EU residents. Some of the key industries impacted are:
Technology and Social Media: Tech Companies like Google, Facebook,and other tech giants process significant amounts of user data. GDPR ensures transparency about how this data is collected, shared, and processed.
Retail and E-commerce: Online retailers collect customer data to fulfill orders, conduct marketing, and analyze customer behavior. GDPR ensures that such data is handled lawfully and securely.
Healthcare: Hospitals, clinics, and health-related businesses process sensitive health data. GDPR mandates that personal health data be securely processed, emphasizing patient consent and confidentiality.
Financial Services: Banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions are subject to GDPR because they hold extensive personal information, including financial transactions. GDPR ensures such data is protected against breaches and misuse.
Education: Schools, colleges, and universities collect data related to students, parents, and staff. GDPR ensures that this information is properly protected and used responsibly.
Hospitality and Travel: Hotels, travel agencies, and airlines handle personal data such as passport details and payment information. GDPR applies to ensure customers’ privacy is protected across borders.
Telecommunications: Companies providing telecommunications services handle large volumes of personal data related to communications and user behavior. GDPR regulates the privacy and use of such information.
Penalties for Non-Compliance with GDPR
Failure to comply with GDPR can result in severe penalties:
Fines: GDPR fines are tiered based on the severity of the violation:
Up to €10 million or 2% of the company’s annual global turnover, whichever is higher, for less severe infringements.
Up to €20 million or 4% of the company’s annual global turnover, whichever is higher, for more serious breaches.
- Legal Actions: In addition to fines, organizations can face legal actions brought by individuals or groups if their data rights have been infringed.
- Reputation Damage: A breach of GDPR compliance can lead to serious reputational damage, negative publicity and loss of customer trust.
Employee Responsibilities under GDPR
Employees play a critical role in ensuring GDPR compliance. Here are your responsibilities:
Follow Data Handling Procedures: Employees must ensure they adhere to the organization’s guidelines for handling, storing, and sharing personal data.
Protect Data Privacy: You need to employ secure systems, avoid unauthorized data sharing, and maintain confidentiality when handling personal data. Always ensure encryption and other security measures are in place.
Report Data Breaches: If you suspect or notice any data breach, it must be reported immediately to the Data Protection Officer or the designated authority in your company. GDPR requires notification of breaches within 72 hours.
Stay Informed: Regularly update your knowledge of data protection policies and attend any mandatory GDPR training sessions organized by your company.
Best Practices for GDPR Compliance
Minimize Data Collection: Only collect necessary data. Avoid unnecessary fields in forms and surveys that might request personal data.
Obtain Explicit Consent: When collecting personal data, always ensure clear and explicit consent from the data subject, particularly for sensitive data.
Anonymize Data When Possible: Where practical, use pseudonymization or anonymization to protect individuals’ identities, particularly during data analysis or sharing.
Be Transparent: Inform individuals clearly about how their data will be used, stored, and shared. Provide privacy notices where applicable.
Secure Data Storage: Personal data should always be stored in a secure environment with restricted access. Ensure that devices are password-protected and sensitive files are encrypted.
GDPR is a far-reaching regulation aimed at ensuring personal data is protected and that individuals have control over their information. The regulation impacts a wide variety of industries and mandates strong accountability measures for organizations. Every employee plays an important role in data protection, whether through securing data, minimizing collection, or reporting breaches.
How databrackets can help you prove your compliance with GDPR
At databrackets, we are a team of certified and experienced security experts with over 12 years of experience across industries. We have helped organizations of all sizes comply with cybersecurity best practices and prove their compliance with security standards to enable them to expand their business opportunities and assure existing clients of their commitment to protecting sensitive information and maintaining high standards of security and privacy.
Our experts provide managed GDPR compliance services with an annual assessment, guidance and support for risk mitigation, document updates, training administration and other required services to ensure you comply with GDPR controls.
We offer 3 Engagement Options – our DIY Toolkits (ideal for MSPs and mature in-house IT teams), and Hybrid or Consulting Services for Compliance / Security Standards. We are an authorized certifying body for ISO 27001 and a Registered Practitioner Organization for CMMC. We also have partnerships to help clients prepare for and obtain other security certifications.
Overview of databrackets
Our team of security experts has supported organizations across a wide variety of industries to align their processes with security frameworks like ISO 27001:2022, SOC 2, HIPAA, 21 CFR Part 11, NIST SP 800-53, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, NIST SP 800-171, GDPR, CMMC etc.
We are constantly expanding our library of assessments and services to serve organizations across industries. Schedule a Consultation if you would like to Connect with an Expert to understand how we can customize our services to meet your specific requirements.
Author: Aditi Salhotra, Digital Marketing and Business Development, databrackets.com
Aditi is a Digital Marketing and Business Development Professional at databrackets.com. She graduated with honors in Marketing from Sheridan College, Canada. In addition to her current profile, she contributes to Product Development and Content Creation. She is a strong advocate of Good Cyber Hygiene and white hat SEO techniques. She is proud of the company’s mission to safeguard organizations from cyber threats and ensure their business continuity in adverse situations.
Technical Expert: Srini Kolathur, Director, databrackets.com
The technical information presented in this blog has been carefully reviewed and verified by our Director, Srini Kolathur. Srini is results-driven security and compliance professional with over 20 years of experience supporting, leading, and managing global IT security, compliance, support, and risk assessment in fortune 100 companies. Some of his key areas of focus are SOC 2, ISO 27001, NIST 800-171, NIST 800-53, NIST Cybersecurity Framework, HIPAA, Security Risk Assessment, CMMC 2.0 among others. He is a CMMC Registered Practitioner (RP), CISSP, CISA, CISM, MBA. He is active in several community groups including Rotary International and TiE.