General Data Protection Regulation Compliance Objectives

May 25th 2018 is coming fast. Do you have the audit detail necessary to meet General Data Protection Regulation compliance objectives?

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the most significant regulation regarding data privacy in over 20 years. Starting May of 2018 the new GDPR will be fully in effect and General Data Protection Regulations compliance will be strictly enforced for the good of all EU citizens. At its core, General Data Protection Regulation compliance is simply about protecting the personal data of EU citizens that is necessary and appropriate to collect.

Currently, EU privacy laws apply to organizations located within the EU but with the GDPR will now also apply to organizations located outside the EU. This is possibly the largest and most radical change when compared to the previous privacy regulations. All rules concerning General Data Protection Regulation compliance will now extend to organisations offering goods or services to, or monitoring the behaviour of, EU data subjects –– meaning that the regulation applies to all companies processing and holding the personal data of data subjects residing in the European Union, regardless of the company’s location. Additionally, non-EU businesses processing the data of EU citizens may have to appoint a representative in the EU.

Under the new  GDPR rules, organisations in breach of General Data Protection Regulation compliance can be fined up to 4% of annual global turnover or €20 Million (whichever is greater). It is important to note that these rules apply to not only controllers but to processors as well. This means that 'clouds' or cloud-based organisations are not exempt from GDPR rules or enforcement. Each Member State will have the same effective powers, including powers of investigation, corrective powers and sanctions, as well as advisory powers, particularly in cases involving complaints from citizens, and under Member State law, will also have the power to bring any and all GDPR infringements to the attention of the judicial authorities and engage in legal proceedings.

How to Generate General Data Protection Regulation Compliance

The right monitoring software should easily keep organizations of all sizes compliant with GDPR rules and obligations. It’s important to ensure safeguards are in place, demonstrate in real time that access to data is appropriate, and provide context should a breach occur.