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Data Protection- How To Reduce Your Risks?

July 20th, 2017

Cyber Risk Exposure Exists For All Businesses

Every business in the modern era will have some form of data and will almost certainly have cyber risk exposure. You may not identify it immediately but there’s guaranteed to be some form of risk attached to your business. As a result, you will need to look at your data protection protocols and ensure that they are adequate enough to meet risk exposures and legal requirements.

Businesses that use any form of software to manage data will have risk exposure. If you keep data on a spreadsheet and the file is corrupted can your business still operate? Data protection is now longer just an ethical practice it is required by law under both the data protection act and the GDPR regulations that are coming into force in 2018.

Data Storage Risks Are A Business Liability

It’s not only important from a business point of view to ensure that you have the data you need to continue to operate, but also have the ability to protect the data as you are responsible for it. Any business that holds data, whether it be an address, bank details or national insurance number, you are responsible for protecting that data.

7 Key Questions To Consider For Data Protection & GDPR

When looking at data protection and GDPR, (new regulation coming into force in 2018 to ensure a business is protecting data correctly and using the information ethically), it is important that you are able to answer the following questions:

1. Do you know where ALL your data is within the business and who has access to it both internally and externally?
2. Have you reviewed in the last 6 months your privacy policy, if so were there any changes and what were they?
3. Have you carried out or considered a Privacy Impact Assessment for your work streams?
4. Do you have and follow a robust records retention policy?
5. How are you managing supplier and third-party relationships with regard to their obligations to your information?
6. Do you know if you are a data controller or data processor in each of your business relationships?
7. How much progress have you made in readiness for GDPR?

 

Be Prepared For Cyber Risk

Answering these questions will help identify areas for improvement, allowing you to reduce your risks. This will not only mean that the business is safer from cybercrime, but also in line with what is expected under the data protection act and forthcoming GDPR legislation.

GDPR will become a major stipulation for your business to follow and it is important that you understand as much about it as possible and begin to prepare in the right way for it.

To find out more read our blog; Are you ready for GDPR?

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