Security measures for data protection

GDPR says you need to secure personal data

All of us take our personal security very seriously – after all, when was the last time you left your house without locking your front door? Sadly the same can’t be said for the care we take about our personal data – both our own, and that of other people. But personal data is an integral and unignorable fact of life, and we need to ensure we’re taking care of it in both our personal and professional lives.

When it comes to business, it’s not just ‘best practices’ or ‘doing the right thing’ that means you need to make effort to secure personal data – the GDPR (which applies in both the UK and the EU) says you must. And we all know you need to do what the GDPR says, otherwise you’re in-line for severe fines and ruinous reputational damage.

Practically every business processes personal data under GDPR – that’s increasingly what business is – and ‘processing personal data in a secure manner’ is a key principle of the GDPR. Security measures are required to protect the Confidentiality, Integrity and Availability (known as CIA) of personal data.

How can I secure my personal data?

All businesses should consider their unique threat profile and set security measures that are commensurate to their risk level. This doesn’t mean ‘doing the bare minimum – far from it – it means ‘make sure your security measures will actually be effective’. Inadequate security measures lead to breaches, and as mentioned above, that leads to fines and reputational damage – not to mention the harm to data subjects themselves.

What security controls should I use?

If you’re needing help implementing security controls for data protection, your best bet is to get some help. Lean on support from a trusted GDPR compliant security partner and use their skill and experience to make your journey to GDPR compliance as painless as possible. After all, they’ve seen all the challenges facing a range of businesses and already have the answers. But for businesses who want to DIY it, here are some top tips:

• Implement an access controls policy and procedure

  Ensuring restricted controls are in place for only authorised personnel

• Mandate strong, unique passwords everywhere

  Passwords are often your first line of cyber defence

• Install anti-virus software and keep it updated

  Ensure it’s installed on ALL devices that hold corporate data – even BYOD devices

• Use firewalls

  Attacks mostly come from the outside, so good network security is a no-brainer

• Encrypt data at rest and in transit

  It’s less impactful if a hacker gets their hands on data that’s been properly encrypted, as they won’t be able to read it

• Regular vulnerability testing

  To fix your security flaws you first have to find them – and that’s best done with a penetration test

• Periodic reviews

  Periodically evaluating the effectiveness of your technical and organisational measures is vital for ensuring the on-going security of the data processing

Rebecca says:

“A good tip is to use a compliance framework like Cyber Essentials to ensure you’re meeting the basics. This will make sure you’re covering the fundamental cyber security basics, plus it means your business can bid for additional MoD, NHS and Government contracts.”