What is GDPR and Why is it Important?

GDPR, which stands for “General Data Protection Regulation”, is coming into full force in May 2018 to help provide a new law on data handling and protection across Europe. This new regulation is designed to protect all EU citizens and as a result, will have global implications. Any business in the world that deals with European citizens will need to think about how they are complying to this new law.

Although the idea of GDPR can seem overwhelming, every business can get the basics ready. In fact, by following a simple GDPR blueprint, it may also help demonstrate vulnerabilities, insecurities and inefficiencies in the way you are collecting, storing and managing personal data. This new law is likely to help showcase how businesses can be better organised when it comes to personal data and ensure their customers and staff’s data is secure.

As businesses move to create more transparent processes of how personal data is used in their businesses, as well as ensuring relevant security measures are set up, it will have long term benefits for customers and the businesses themselves. Data breaches are becoming more commonplace and many business owners don’t truly understand all the potential vulnerabilities that could impact their business. The digital age brings with it a plethora of benefits, but also brings with it potential vulnerabilities that must be addressed. GDPR is likely to be the first step in ensuring businesses evolve to reflect new technology and processes.

Brexit won’t change the UK’s need to comply with GDPR, so all UK businesses still need to understand and implement relevant changes.

GDPR Compliance

Every business will operate in different ways and collect, manage and oversee different forms of personal data. This means recommendations for specific businesses need to be offered by a professional service that can analyse a specific business operation.

Generally, GDPR is focused on “Personally Identifiable Information” (PII). This data includes personal attributes that could identify someone. Any Personally Identifiable Information should only be stored with the consent of the person during the specified purpose of obtaining that data. They should also be fully aware of how their personal information is going to be used. A business should also be able to easily remove this data at the request of the user. This means businesses need to have personal data stored and managed in a way that can be edited with ease to comply with such requests. It should be as easy as possible for a user to understand how their personal data is stored with a business. If customers request, businesses should know explicitly every type of personal data that they have on that customer and be able to present this back to them.

Personal data doesn’t just refer to things like name, bank details, addresses, etc, but also things like IP addresses. This reflects the adoption of new technologies and how GDPR aims to address the new ways of how businesses are collecting personal information about users.

The use of data must be explicit, referring to action against silence or pre-assumed measures as a form of agreement. This means businesses shouldn’t use personal data until users request they don’t, rather businesses must have clear consent from the user that their data can be used. This helps businesses deliver services and products that users actually want, as opposed to leverage personal data in a way that exploits their privacy.

So, how can a telecoms provider like PureComms help businesses get started with GDPR?

GDPR and Telecoms

  1. Better Data Security – Data breaches will remain a hot topic for the foreseeable future and business’s willingness to take adequate measures may in fact become vital components of lawsuits and legal battles. If users or authorities believe businesses haven’t set up relevant security measures, the business may be found accountable. This means one of the first steps businesses can take to become GDPR compliant is to take a look at their digital securities and ensure they meet the standards. For example, encrypting data is just one way a business can limit the potential damage of security breaches.

 

Here at PureComms, we can help you understand the best ways to make your telecoms solutions as secure as possible and utilise the very best equipment and hardware.

 

  1. Data Management – Data is becoming a sort after asset and the GDPR recognises that businesses could exploit this. As a result, having systems, processes and management that helps manage this data and allow users to have personal data removed from this as easily as possible will ensure businesses comply to GDPR. If businesses need to transfer data, or require others to manage the data, the way this is handled will impact whether the business is following GDPR recommendations.

 

Here at PureComms, we can help you understand how the technical side of telecoms relates to user information and GDPR.

 

  1. Support and Recommendations – The ongoing support and latest recommendations to how businesses can keep up to date with GDPR changes is just one of the benefits PureComms customers receive. Our experts are always on the look-out for ways we can help innovate all aspects of telecommunications, from GDPR compliance, to workflow efficiencies.

We see GDPR as a great opportunity for businesses to take better care and management over the way personal data is handled. This goes hand in hand with the services we provide, which is why we are able to help support our customers and make sure they get the most out of telecom solutions that meet GDPR standards.

For more information about how telecoms can help manage your data, talk to our expert team today. We can help demonstrate our approach to data privacy, GDPR compliance, as well as how we could help your business utilise connectivity in a way that meets the growing demands of regulatory bodies and customer expectations.