Mystery shopper stress test

Think you’re compliant? We can expose your weaknesses – Before it’s too late!

Many businesses claim to be “GDPR Compliant” but are you? Is this by your estimation, or is it an independent view by a privacy specialist?  

Are there any weaknesses you know about in within the business?

The chances are, if you’ve managed your compliance programme in-house to date and have followed the guidance provided by the ICO, then you will have done a reasonable job. However, there are likely to be areas you have missed, or not completed to the degree required or due to a lack of understanding of the legislation – which can be costly to the business both operationally, financially (fines being imposed for non-compliance), or from a reputation point of view.

Our team of privacy experts are on-hand to help with just this – call us today to find out how we can help.

We commend organisations who value the importance of a sustainable privacy culture and we will work with you to ensure your preparations are appropriate for your business, the types of personal data you use and the nature of processing.

Mystery shopper / stress test

Our Mystery Shopper / Stress Test service simply exposes specific areas of weakness you have in the business – before it causes you a problem.

Unlike other Mystery Shopper services the Privacy Helper Team has first-hand experience of the most areas of operational failure when handling privacy matters – so we are perfectly placed to spot any errors in your work, or mis-understandings you have in the legislation – maybe you’ve become confused with an earlier version of the legislation, compared to a later version. Our job is to highlight this.  

There will also be areas you have completed and demonstrated an excellent level of understanding of the legislation and your obligations – in which case we will identify these positives and help you to build on them.

Our work could help with:

• An area of the business you are particularly concerned about – is it a critical area for processing and you want to test the processes you have in place, or the degree to which your policy reflects the processing activity. This is vital under the accountability principle of GDPR.

• Have you suffered a data breach previously and want to demonstrate to your key stakeholders, OR the ICO that you have addressed the previous failings?

• An independent stress test will look highly favourably on you and could demonstrate your commitment to ensuring your responsibilities as a data controller are addressed.

• Have you failed in your obligations as a data controller in an area and need an independent specialist to run a test?

• Do you suspect your staff are not following appropriate procedures and need a Mystery Shopper to highlight this?

• Penetration Testing – our specialists will expose any failings in your systems that would otherwise be breached by hackers. If not identified by us, this could cause extreme disruption to your business operations.

• GDPR compliance is an on-going project and one that grows organically as the business develops. By engaging with us, we can work with you to ensure your business processes still reflect those you documented a year ago – and bad habits have not crept in!

What will I receive off the back of my engagement?

All Mystery Shopper / Stress Test engagements receive a detailed report which acts as a formal record of our engagement with you. It can also be used to demonstrate the accountability principle. It will cover:

The reason for our engagement – any background. This helps to explain why you’ve engaged with us if the report is to be presented to the ICO, your investors or a third party.

Our methodology - how we approached the engagement, which principles of the GDPR did we refer to?

Our findings – how do these compare to your obligations as data controllers? Positive and negative elements of our findings.

Our recommendations to be addressed – how these will be achieved – via internal improvements, or do we recommend external guidance? Is a re-test necessary? What timescales do we recommend?

What does the service cost?

Our standard consulting fees when spending a day on site with you are £125 / hour, per consultant (plus agreed subsistence expenses). On large-scale projects, where our Global Privacy Consultants are engaged, fees are £1,250 + VAT.

If working remotely (in our office), then our fees are £125 / hour, per consultant.

As all engagements are unique you will receive a bespoke proposal of work detailing our approach and all applicable fees.

To find out how our privacy specialists can independently identify weaknesses in your GDPR preparations – whether limited to one area, or the whole business, contact us today and we’ll get you booked in. The sooner we can get working, the quicker we can help you.

Why choose us?

Click here to find out why we are the UK’s #1 privacy consultancy.