Companies and organizations are entrusted with protecting the data of their clients. Client data is in most cases personal and could be used by malicious third parties for financial gain through identity theft or even blackmailing. It goes without saying that companies must protect digital information from falling into the wrong hands. It is a continuous and never-ending process. One of the ways is through the application of a DPIA. So what exactly is a DPIA and how is it conducted? Read the guide below for more information on the same. You can also click on https://ethyca.com/data-protection-impact-assessments/.

What is a DPIA?

In full, DPIA stands for Data Protection Impact Assessment and it represents a designed process used to identify the possibility of data risks occurring due to the

The benefits of conducting a DPIA

There are several benefits of conducting a DPIA.

  1. Compliance with the GDPR. The General Data Protection Regulation has set out the instances when a DPIA should be conducted. Lack of adherence to the GDPR can lead to sanctions on your company.
  2. Reduce the risk of data corruption. Through continual assessment of your data processing, the data manager can reduce the likelihood of data disruption at all stages of data processing.
  3. Protecting the data of your clients. This has to be the biggest benefit of implementing a DPIA. Clients and partners who conduct business with you are not at risk since their data cannot be violated or stolen.
  4. Public confidence. In this age of cyber crimes, the protection of personal data is a priority. Conduction DPIAs inspires confidence from the public.

How to conduct a DPIA

DPIA is informed by the GDPR. And while the GDPR doesn’t outline the process of conducting a DPIA, there are a number of implied steps that can be derived from reading the GDPR. In addition, the lack of a prescribed process by the GDPR is to allow for scalability and flexibility due to the different sizes of organizations.

Step 1: Identification and Description of data flow. The methods of Data Collection, Processing, and Storage should be identified. You should also determine the kind of information that will be required in the project or organization.

Step 2: Identification of Data related risks. The company should examine the project/ structure of the company and assess where data is likely to be stolen by third parties. This step should be refined continuously to take in new risks.

Step 3: Mitigation. Identify solutions that can be taken to reduce the data risks in step 2. You can label them as ‘data protection solutions’.

Step 4: This involves implementation and constant review of the solutions identified. This must be recorded so that if need be they can be reviewed and improved later on.

 

Authoritative Sources:  https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/organisations/know-your-obligations/data-protection-impact-assessments#when-is-a-dpia-not-required & https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/law-topic/data-protection/reform/rules-business-and-organisations/obligations/when-data-protection-impact-assessment-dpia-required_en

 

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