Whether you are a sole trader, small business owner or corporate giant, the GDPR affects you & your client/customers data. Are you GDPR ready?
What is the GDPR & why does this affect you? The GDPR stands for the General Data Protection Regulation & comes in to force on the 25th May 2018. Every business, whether it be a sole trader, small business or corporate giant is affected by the GDPR legislation.
Some argue that in the light of Brexit, we shouldn’t be constrained to follow this EU law. However, as the UK is still part of the EU & was part of the EU when this was agreed; the UK is bound by it’s rulings.
But what does this mean for you? If you haven’t already got yourself up to speed with the changes, you need to do so & soon. Companies who are found to not be GDPR compliant are susceptible to large fines in the future if they are in breach of this new legislation. So what is the GDPR & how did it come about?
The GDPR applies to all companies worldwide that process personal data of European Union (EU) citizens. “For the first time, the European Commission [EC] is exporting European data protection principles to the rest of the world,” This means that any company that works with information relating to EU citizens will have to comply with the requirements of the GDPR, making it the first global data protection law. computerweekly.com
Why is this change in legislation so vastly different from previous data protection regulations?
“Parts of IT that have been unaffected by data protection laws in the past will need attention from businesses to ensure they comply with the new regulation. The GDPR considers any data that can be used to identify an individual as personal data. It includes, for the first time, things such as genetic, mental, cultural, economic or social information.” computerweekly.com
So how do you know if the systems you are using are GDPR compliant? How do you know if your internal systems of storing & obtaining customers/clients data are GDPR compliant?“The GDPR requires all organisations collecting personal data to be able to prove clear and affirmative consent to process that data”
“In the future, it will be more important than ever for organisations to explain exactly what personal data they are collecting and how it will be processed and used. Without valid consent, any personal data processing activities will be shut down by the authorities” computerweekly.com
Virtually Smart Ltd have been working to identify which current systems are GDPR compliant. We have already found several app’s which are not GDPR compliant & in light of the recent Cambridge Analytica data scandal, we are all aware of the needs to protect our personal data & those of the customers/clients we work with daily.
But, therein lies the rub. Just what systems have you got in place which store customers/clients data? Remember, data means names, addresses, email, cultural , economic & social information, etc as well as more personal information & of course payment information. Where is this stored? On your laptop? hard drive? Drop box? How many free apps have you been using, which are not GDPR compliant nor will be?
Virtually Smart Ltd are offering business owners an audit service for their GDPR compliance. We can assess your systems & policies to ascertain if you are GDPR compliant & where you may need to tighten up on your data protection. We can produce a report which will identify which systems currently in use are complaint & advise were you will need to change your systems/polices to avoid hefty fines in the future.
Call Helena Parrott on 07954 994 769 or contact us through our contact page for more information.
