“Although there is no guarantee that you will always be free from spyware, there are some things you can do to significantly lower the risk.” – Anonymous
Every 39 seconds, there is a hacker attack on the web, which affects one in three Americans. According to the report presented by IBM’s Chairman, “cyber crime, by definition, is the greatest threat to every profession, every industry, every company in the world.”
What’s shocking in this statistic is the fact that 43% of cyber attacks impact small businesses.
Today, there’s something big happening in the world of data security. It is called General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
The deadline for GDPR compliance is May 25th, 2018.
What is General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)?
GDPR is a new EU regulation that makes it imperative for businesses to keep personal data secure and make sure that privacy of citizens within the EU member states remains intact.
Non-compliance with the regulations can be a red flag for a business in the eyes of the authorities.
Everything you need to know about GDPR
To make sure that your small business stays safe from the impact of GDPR, we are here with everything you need to know about the new regulation.
GDPR explained in 3 minutes
The compliance factor
When a data breach occurs in a business, the biggest loss happens to not just the organization itself but the people whose data has been stolen. More often than not, this occurs because the businesses don’t take data security seriously.
In order to ensure that this non-seriousness is eliminated, GDPR requires businesses to employ state-of-the-art measures to protect personal data. In order to comply with the guidelines, companies must do the following:
- Gather data legally, and under strict regulations
- Manage and protect it in the best possible manner
- Maintain respect for the data owner’s rights
If there is any negligence in any of the above-mentioned factors, the business must remain prepared for facing huge penalties.
Here’s an infographic that explains how you can collect and process data under GDPR.
Does it apply to every business?
There has been a huge uproar about the implications associated with the GDPR. The biggest question that has been looming in the market has been – does it apply to every business?
Well, the answer is no. it only applies to organizations that operate with the EU. This includes the organizations that offer goods and services to customers in the EU even though they based outside the EU.
As part of the regulation, there are two types of data handlers:
Controller – the person or agency that is directly involved (alone or in joint service with others) in determining the purpose of data processing.
Processor – the authority that is responsible for the processing of data supplemented by the controller.
What falls under personal data?
Another important piece of information that you need to know is what is classified as personal data.
Everything that is personal to an individual falls under the personal data protection laws. This includes information like:
- Name
- Address
- Photos
- IP address
- Genetic data
- Biometric data
In short, any kind of information that a hacker can use to identify an individual is personal data.
How will GDPR impact your business?
Companies are expected to benefit from GDPR. Compared to having many regulatory bodies to take care of data-compliance for businesses, having a single body is going to make things simpler and easier for businesses.
In fact, instead of having 28 laws for 28 EU member states, the new single regulation is going to help save a total of €2.3 billion per year across Europe. This is big!
At the same time, it will also guarantee online data protection, which has been a major concern over the last few years.
Businesses that fail to comply with the guidelines can expect to face hefty fines that may go up to €20 million.
How will GDPR impact consumers?
We discussed the impact GDPR is going to have on businesses – now, let us have a look at how GDPR is going to affect consumers.
GDPR can prove to be a highly beneficial regulation for consumers, as they will no longer have to worry about cyber criminals lurking around websites that hold their personal data.
Most important of all, the new regulation will allow consumers to ask organizations about their data security policy and processes, and how they handle an incident of data breach.
In other words, GDPR will make it easier for consumers to access their data and get to know how it is being stored and processed. Therefore, GDPR comes as a blessing for consumers.
Report within 72-hours of the breach
One of the strongest points of the regulation that has come forward is the way a data breach should be reported. Specifically, in such an incident, companies need to report to the Information Commissioner’s Office for UK organizations within 72-hours – unless the personal data breach is unlikely to result in a risk to individuals.
Businesses must also notify the consumers about the data breach within the same time frame.
This makes it more transparent for the individuals to know whether there has been an invasion of their privacy, ultimately making sure that businesses don’t forget the phrase – The customer is King.
Conclusion
Looking at the growing concern about the safety of customer data, GDPR seems to be a huge step in the right direction.
Not only does it pull the strings for businesses to upgrade their security policies, but it also makes the data safety more transparent, since GDPR allows consumers to know how businesses handle their personal data.
As of now, the deadline for GDPR compliance is May 25th, 2018.
So, any business that fails to comply with the guidelines can expect to face serious consequences.
As far as the success or failure of this endeavor is concerned, we all will have to wait and see what happens. Let’s hope it all turns out to be good; after all, this change is made for the benefit of the consumer.