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Compliance software, do Data Protection Officers need it?

As a Data Protection Officer, it’s your responsibility to make sure your organization is compliant with legal data protection requirements. Data protection

As a Data Protection Officer, it’s your responsibility to make sure your organization is compliant with legal data protection requirements. Data protection officers (DPOs) are responsible for monitoring their organization’s adherence to data protection requirements, reporting on the obligations to the organization, and providing data for requests and inquiries concerning the formation of the subject’s individual data. Our software solutions were developed to assist companies to create and maintain records of compliance. The ComplyKEY suite is a fully managed service that handles data requests and data management with ease:

DiscoveryControl – Automated workflow for compliance management

MailMeter – Email management (Microsoft 365 environments, Exchange, Google Workspace, and IceWarp)

SISCIN – File management

As organizations strive to remain compliant with ever-changing regulations, their Data Protection Officer needs a comprehensive compliance management system that can be tailored to their specific needs. To achieve this goal, our software solutions are available as individual modules or combined. This type of customization is useful when dealing with complex requests.

Furthermore, our experienced consultants work closely with your data protection officer and team throughout the implementation and configuration process to ensure the software is tailored properly and meets all applicable compliance requirements.

data compliance  officer workflow

Why does a Data Protection Officer need email archiving, eDiscovery, or workflow management software?

The GDPR requires your organization to protect personal data in all its forms. It also changes the rules of consent and strengthens people’s privacy rights. To ensure compliance your data protection officer needs to supply the requested information by the required deadline.

How a data protection officer can ensure GDPR email compliance

According to Statista.com 347.3 BILLION emails will be sent/received PER DAY in 2023.  Because mailboxes stockpile personal data email is subject to the  European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).   GDPR requirements on data protection cover:

  • Names
  • Email addresses
  • Attachments
  • Conversations about people/colleagues

Any organization that handles the personal information of EU citizens or residents is subject to the GDPR.  According to GDPR.eu the requirements basically boil down to two things:

  • Secure people’s data
  • Make it easy for people to exercise control over their data

There are two tiers of administrative fines that can be levied as penalties for non-compliance:

  • Up to €10 million, or 2% annual global turnover – whichever is higher.
  • Up to €20 million, or 4% annual global turnover – whichever is higher.

Fines are based on the specific articles of the Regulation that the organization has breached and calculated in the total worldwide annual turnover of the preceding financial year (Source https://www.itgovernance.eu/en-ie/dpa-and-gdpr-penalties-ie)

Itgovernance advises that:

Not all GDPR infringements lead to data protection fines. Supervisory authorities such as the Data Protection Commission (DPC) in Ireland has a range of corrective powers and sanctions to enforce the GDPR. These include:

  • Issuing warnings and reprimands.
  • Imposing a temporary or permanent ban on data processing.
  • Ordering the rectification, restriction, or erasure of data; and
  • Suspending data transfers to third countries.

In addition, data subjects have a right to take legal proceedings against a controller or a processor if he or she believes that his or her rights under GDPR have been infringed.

Broadly speaking the focus regarding GDPR email requirements has centred around email marketing and spam. However, for a data protection officer email encryption and email safety, are equally important for GDPR compliance. The ability to find emails, and attachments for FOI, FOIA, DSARhttps://waterfordtechnologies.com/need-assistance-to-complete-a-data-subject-access-request-manually/, EIR, request etc. is vital.

What the GDPR says:

If you collect, store, or use the data of people in the EU, then the GDPR applies to you. And that means you may have an obligation to change the way your organization operates in some fundamental ways.

The GDPR requires “data protection by design and by default,” meaning organizations must always consider the data protection implications of any new or existing products or services. Article 5 of the GDPR lists the principles of data protection you must adhere to, including the adoption of appropriate technical measures to secure data. Encryption and pseudonymization are cited in the law as examples of technical measures you can use to minimize potential damage in the event of a data breach.

What GDPR means for email:

When it comes to email, encryption is the most feasible option. MailMeter encrypts mail and stores a copy in real-time. SISCIN Data is retained as per your organization’s regulatory requirements.

Email retention under GDPR

What the GDPR says:

Data erasure is a large part of the GDPR. It’s one of the six data protection principles: Article 5(e) states that personal data can be stored for “no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.” Data erasure is also one of the personal rights protected by the GDPR in Article 17, right to be forgotten. “The data subject shall have the right to obtain from the controller the erasure of personal data concerning him or her without undue delay.” There are some exceptions to this requirement, such as the public interest. But, you have an obligation to erase personal data you no longer need.

What it means for email:

Many of us never delete emails. As a data protection officer you’ll have heard every reason there is to justify keeping them. We may need to refer to them someday as a record of our activities or even for possible litigation. But the more data you keep, the greater your liability if there’s a data breach. More importantly, the erasure of unneeded personal data is now required under European law. We recommend periodically reviewing your organization’s email retention policy with the goal of reducing the amount of data your employees store in their mailboxes. The regulation requires organizations to show they have a policy in place that balances their legitimate business interests against their data protection obligations under the GDPR.