Protect your personal data and your journey to international standards

What is GDPR?

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive set of legal rules of the European Union (EU) on the protection of personal data of European citizens. The GDPR officially came into effect on May 25, 2018, replacing the 1995 Data Protection Directive. The main purpose of the GDPR is to give individuals control over their personal data, while simplifying the legal environment for organizations/businesses operating inside and outside the EU when handling user data.

The GDPR not only applies to organizations and businesses based in the EU, but also extends its scope globally, to include any organization that processes the personal data of EU citizens, regardless of where the organization is located. This makes the GDPR a global standard for data security and privacy.

GDPR Fundamentals

1. Transparency and fairness: Personal data must be handled in a transparent, legal, and fair manner to the data subject.
2. Specific Purposes: Data is collected only for explicit, lawful purposes and is not subsequently processed for unrelated purposes.
3. Data Limit: Collect only the data that is most necessary for the intended purpose.
4. Accurate: Personal data must be updated, modified, or deleted when it is no longer accurate.
5. Limited storage: Data is stored only for as long as is necessary for the purpose of processing.
6. Security: Data must be adequately protected against the risks of unauthorized access, disclosure, loss, or destruction.
7. Demonstrate compliance: Organizations must demonstrate compliance with GDPR guidelines through documentation, policies, and processes.

Individual rights under the GDPR

The GDPR imposes many important rights for individuals, including:

1. Right to information: Know how personal data is processed, by whom and for what purposes.
2. Access: Request access to personal data that the organization is storing about it.
3. Right to Modify: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data.
4. Right to erasure: Request erasure of personal data in certain circumstances (the right to be forgotten).
5. Right to restrict processing: Restrict the processing of data in specified situations.
6. Right to data portability: Receive personal data in a structured format and transfer it to another entity.
7. Right to object: Object to the processing of personal data for direct marketing purposes or for the legitimate interests of the organization.
8. Right not to be automatically processed: Not to be affected by decisions that rely solely on automated data processing, including profiling.

GDPR compliance challenges for businesses

GDPR compliance is a complex process that requires organizations to revisit the entire process of collecting, storing, processing, and protecting personal data. Common challenges include:

1. Evaluation and mapping of personal data in internal systems.
2. Develop or update data privacy policies in accordance with the GDPR.
3. Train employees to be aware of data security and privacy.
4. Establish a system to record the consent of the data subject (consent management).
5. Ensure that the rights of individuals are fully enforced through the process of querying, modifying, and deleting data.
6. Prepare troubleshooting measures in the event of a data leak or breach.
7. Meet the requirements for proof of compliance in inspections or inspections from authorities.

Failure to comply with the GDPR can result in very high fines – up to 20 million euros or 4% of total global revenue per year, whichever is greater.

GDPR Certification Consulting Services

To meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the GDPR, many organizations/businesses choose to cooperate with professional consultants to achieve compliance certification. GDPR certification consulting services play an important role in:

1. Assess the current state of compliance and identify weaknesses in the personal data protection system.
2. Build a GDPR compliance roadmap that is tailored to the specifics of each business.
3. Assist in the development of policies, processes, and documentation demonstrating compliance.
4. Consulting on technical solutions such as data encryption, access management, network security, end-to-end protection.
5. Train employees on the awareness and procedures for handling personal data.
6. Support the preparation and participation in independent audits and assessments to obtain certification from reputable organizations.
7. Propose solutions to manage risks and respond to personal data leaks.

Benefits of using GDPR certification consulting services

1. Ensure legal compliance, avoid large fines and legal risks.
2. Increase the reputation and trust of customers and partners with a commitment to protect personal data.
3. Supporting the optimization of data management processes, improving operational efficiency.
4. Minimize the risk of data loss, leakage as well as financial and reputational damage.
5. Equip your staff with knowledge and skills in security, privacy and risk management.

GDPR Certification Consulting Process

Here are the basic steps that are often applied by consultants to accompany businesses:

1. Status Survey: Assess the current system, determine the scope of data processing and potential weaknesses and risks.
2. Compliance planning: Develop a specific roadmap to meet GDPR requirements, from changes in technology and processes to personnel training.
3. Implement the solution: Coordinate with businesses to update and complete the data protection system and related internal processes.
4. Internal training & communication: Organize courses and seminars on GDPR awareness for all employees.
5. Internal inspection and evaluation: Conduct physical inspections, simulate violation situations to improve response capacity.
6. Certification preparation consulting: Supporting businesses to prepare documents, processes, and interact with independent certification organizations.
7. Continuous monitoring: Propose measures to maintain, update the system, handle legal changes as well as new risks.

GDPR is an important and global standard for protecting personal data and privacy. Compliance not only helps businesses avoid legal risks but also strengthens their reputation and improves their competitiveness in the international arena. GDPR certification consulting services are an effective companion solution, helping businesses step by step build a strong, effective and sustainable data protection system, meeting the increasing requirements of laws and customers in today’s digital era.