GDPR Awareness

On completion of the Echo3 online GDPR Awareness training participants can expect to know:

1. GDPR Principlesincluding data subject rights, lawful processing, consent, and accountability.
2. Legal Complianceby implementing necessary measures to meet regulatory requirements.
3. Understand “privacy by design”by incorporating data protection considerations into the development of products, services, and systems.
4. Data Subject Rights,be prepared to handle data subject requests, including the right to access, rectify, and erase personal data.
5. Data Protection Officer (DPO) Role,understand the responsibilities of a Data Protection Officer.

GDPR refers to the UK General Data Protection regulations.  This defines the steps employers must take in order to keep personal data safe.  UK GDPR defines a set of principles that must be followed.  For example permission must be given before personal data can be used.

Cyber Security on the other hand is how companies can keep data and software safe from harmful attacks.  Malicious computer coders known as Hackers try to get harmful software into company systems that allows them to access valuable data.  Employees can help prevent this happening when they recognise the common techniques that hackers often use.

The reasons for the GDPR breach fines being issued vary from “not putting the necessary security measures in place” to “not disclosing a data breach to the customers” and “passwords being saved in plain text”. So, it’s important as a business to make sure your employees are properly trained to ensure no one is putting individuals or the business at risk.

Moreover, there aren’t only financial consequences when it comes to exposing personal data. The GDPR strongly emphasizes the importance of preventing data exposure of vulnerable people. Some UK city councils have launched investigations due to information being mistakenly shared that put vulnerable people at risk.

Some of the biggest fines have been to companies such as British Airways (£20M), Marriott Hotels (£99M) and Yahoo (£85M). Facebook narrowly escaped a huge fine, which could have been as high as £10.3 billion had the GDPR been in effect. However, because the data protection violations occurred in 2015, before the implementation of the EU’s general data protection regulation in 2018, the company paid the maximum possible fine under the General Data Protection Act 1998.