GDPR compliance for business

With the development and implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), businesses around the world were forced to review and improve their practices for processing and storing personal data of customers.

The emergence of such a comprehensive law was a consequence of the growing importance of privacy in the field of business and data security in the digital era.

What is GDPR and why is compliance important?

GDPR is EU legislation that regulates the collection, processing, and storage of personal data of EU citizens (in the case of businesses, and their counterparties).

The main purpose of GDPR is to protect citizens’ data and ensure control over their storage. Regardless of where a business is located, if it collects and processes the personal data of EU citizens, it must comply with GDPR requirements.

This law not only creates new privacy standards but also defines severe fines for violating these rules, which can significantly affect business.

Ensuring compliance with the GDPR (hereinafter – GDPR compliance) requires a systematic approach and consistent implementation of its key stages for the company.

Important steps in conducting high-quality and reliable GDPR compliance are the following:

• Company data audit. The first step in bringing a business into compliance with the GDPR is a detailed audit of all data that is collected, processed, and stored, which includes not only the personal data of customers but also the data of employees and other stakeholders. This will help determine the correct personal data processing process for the company by GDPR principles;
• Risk and privacy assessment. In the second stage, it is important to assess the potential risks to the privacy and security of data, in particular to counterparties. This includes the identification of possible threats and vulnerabilities in data processing systems, as well as the assessment of the possible consequences of violations for individuals whose data is processed, which will help to further develop a clear action strategy for the implementation of an appropriate privacy policy;
• Development of appropriate policies and procedures. Based on the results of the audit and assessment of risks for the privacy and security of counterparty data, each business must develop appropriate policies and procedures that meet the requirements of the GDPR, in particular: regarding data collection and processing, appropriate security measures for data storage, regarding rules for access to personal data, regarding the procedure for responding to detection of violations;
• Implementation of technical means of personal data protection. The next and no less important step is the development and implementation of the use of technical measures to protect the personal data of counterparties, in particular, appropriate methods of encryption and two-factor authentication. It is also necessary to introduce systematic audits of security and protection against information leakage, which will be provided by a separate team of company employees created for such purposes;
• Search for a qualified specialist for monitoring and reporting. Having a professional data protection and processing expert is a key element of successful GDPR compliance. But it should be borne in mind that depending on the amount of data that will be processed and stored, the most successful step will be to find not one specialist but to prepare an entire unit for the specified purposes, which will be combined into a strong and unified team by one person — DPIA by an officer;
• Constant updating and adaptability. The company must constantly monitor and update its own policy and procedures for the protection of personal data, taking into account changes in legislation and technologies, as well as feedback from counterparties.

Bringing GDPR compliance to your own business is first and foremost a legal duty of a conscientious and responsible entrepreneur.

Qualified lawyers of Prikhodko and Partners Law Firm are ready to help their clients with GDPR compliance by providing such services as consulting and providing a legal opinion on options for GDPR compliance in the company, engaging a specialist to conduct data audits, risk assessments, systematic monitoring and preparation reporting, a proposal for the development of a privacy policy for an individual company.

Conclusions.

Today, GDPR creates a secure environment for interacting with customers, increasing their trust and ensuring their privacy.

Businesses that make efforts to achieve compliance with the GDPR not only preserve their reputation, reducing the risks of violations in the field of storage and processing of personal data of counterparties but also avoid large fines for themselves.

Therefore, conducting GDPR compliance in the company is one of the important steps to achieving success in the EU market.