Overview

The European Union adopted a law known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Its main objective is to protect European individuals' private data. It increases the transparency of how public and commercial organisations process personal data. Private data can be misused in the modern world. The GDPR's 11 chapters contain a variety of laws, including principles, general rules, data rights, supervisory authorities, data controller obligations, and more.

Both organisations and corporations based in Europe that are citizens of that continent are subject to the GDPR. No matter where a business is located, it must comply with the GDPR if it markets products or services to EU citizens. Your firm can enhance the protection of customer data by guaranteeing GDPR compliance.

Why Implement GDPR?

The simple answer to this is the public concern over personal data. In general, Europe has long had stricter regulations governing how businesses may utilise the personal information of its residents. The EU's Data Protection Directive, which became operative in 1995, is replaced by the GDPR. This was long before the internet evolved into the modern-day centre for online commerce. The directive is therefore out of date and does not address many of the ways that data is stored, gathered, and moved today.

How genuine is the public's worry about privacy? It is important, and its impact only increases with each new high-profile data breach. 80% of customers indicated stolen banking and financial data is a major concern, according to the RSA Data Privacy & Security Report, which was based on RSA's poll of 7,500 consumers in France, Germany, Italy, the UK, and the United States.

The 62% of respondents to the RSA report say that they would blame the firm for their lost data in the event of a breach, not the hacker, 'As consumers grow better informed, they expect more transparency and response from the stewards of their data,'' the report's authors wrote in their conclusion.

Benefits of GDPR Compliance

• Protects consumer data
• Builds trust between the consumers and the business
• Prevents penalties that arise from non-compliance
• Data management becomes smoother
• Creates awareness of security vulnerabilities
• Makes the enterprise responsible and accountable for processing data and preventing misuse
• Improves brand reputation.

GDPR compliance can support and boost your business. It has a positive impact which is why it is advised to be more compliant and fulfilling all duties provided under the GDPR.

How to be a GDPR Compliant

Step 1: Document all the personal data received from website users, and to whom it is shared with

Step 2: Users should be provided with an opt-out option, by stating what kind of cookies are on the website and that it can track their location

Step 3: Two documents to record the consent of clients/customers, to use their information. One records who gave consent, and the other records who haven’t

Step 4: Ensure the rights of individuals are provided with their personal data so that their data can be deleted upon request (usually within one month)

Step 5: Only store clients/customers data, with their consent

Step 6: Data is to be stored for the shortest period possible, and deleted when the work with the data is done. If not, the customer should be informed

Step 7: If a customer deletes their account, try to reach out to the person for consent if you can store their data

Step 8: Make sure you have procedures in place to detect, report, and investigate breaches of data

Step 9: Designate an officer to take responsibility for data protection compliance. If not, make sure users are informed

Step 10: A data retention schedule has to be created in accordance with the data destruction policy, to periodically destroy the data that reaches the retention deadline

Step 11: The company's computer systems must be encrypted, and should maintain a record of physical security of data such as paper filings, USB disks etc

Step 12: The right to be informed, to eliminate, to modify, to access, to data portability, to restrict data processing, to object, to automated decision making and profiling.

Rights of an Individual Under GDPR

You have the right to know what data the government and other organisations are holding about you under the Data Protection Act of 2018. These consist of the following:

• access personal data
• rectify inaccurate data
• have data erased
• stop or restrict processing of your data
• be informed about how your data is being used (allowing you to get and reuse your data for different services)
• in some situations, object to how your data is processed

Additionally, if an organisation uses your personal data for any of the following purposes:

• automatic methods for determining decisions (without human involvement)
• profiling, such as determining your likely behaviour or interests