The General Data Protection Regulation has been described as the most significant overhaul in data protection in a generation.
Statistics suggest that the majority of organisations are still not prepared despite the prospect of irreparable reputational damage and being fined €20m or four per cent of worldwide annual turnover if they do not comply.
Chris Hunter, director at systems integrator and telecommunications specialist HM Network, says nothing beats bringing in professional help.
“We didn’t think that GDPR would affect us that much as we’re primarily a B2B business that doesn’t deal directly with the public. How wrong we were,” he says.
“After spending a couple of months trawling the information available on the ICO site, we did what we could in-house but bit the bullet and sought professional help in a number of areas.
“There are a number of things you can do yourself in-house, but having a professional asking you questions helps you get a clearer picture of your own organisation.”
Following a visit by a data protection practitioner last year who interviewed key staff at HM Network, a 45-page risk assessment was produced.
“It’s really helped us prepare for our own readiness journey and prioritise what needs doing first,” Hunter says.
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