Fast effective GDPR audits

For many business owners, GDPR can seem like a complicated piece of legislation. It is vitally important that you are compliant, otherwise you could face enforcement action, including a financial penalty.

You probably have many questions, and you may wonder whether a data audit is necessary for your organisation.

You may be asking yourself

• How much will it cost?

• How long will it take?

• Will an audit interrupt the flow of my business?

You might be feeling overwhelmed and not sure where, or how, to begin.

Rest assured that we are committed to making your audit as efficient and cost-effective as possible while causing minimum disruption to you and your staff.

Are you worried about your business meeting GDPR requirements?  You might be wondering:

• How do I know if my company is fully GDPR compliant?

• What areas of my business are most vulnerable to a breach?

• How can I prevent a data breach from occurring?

• What actions should I take to ensure my company doesn’t receive a fine or other negative consequences due to non-compliance?

• How can I ensure my staff are aware of good GDPR practices?

These are all legitimate questions, and extremely important ones considering that the majority of data breaches are caused by human error, often due to inadequate GDPR staff training.

Don’t be concerned though, because we are here to give you expert advice, help, and training in this critical area of your business.

We are committed to making your audit as efficient and cost-effective as possible…

If you’re thinking: “Do I really need to provide data protection training for my staff?” – the answer is an emphatic “Yes”. The importance of staff training cannot be overstated.

According to a report, between 1st January and 20th June 2024, of nearly 5,000 personal data breaches reported to the ICO – 60% of these were caused by human error.

Unfortunately, sometimes a business will fail to adequately train the people most likely to cause a data breach – their employees. This can be a grave mistake that can result in staff making data protection errors that can lead to serious consequences for your company such as loss of reputation and even civil action from data subjects citing ‘stress and anxiety’ due to a data breach.

The primary reason to conduct a data protection audit is to discover if your business is currently abiding by the GDPR. An important first step towards GDPR compliance is for a business to determine what data they hold and where.

A data audit will establish:

• What personal data you are collecting

• The reason you are collecting that personal data

• How that data is being stored and processed

• Whether (or not) you are processing that data lawfully

Conducting a thorough data audit will provide your business with the information it needs to identify weaknesses (the gaps!) in your GDPR processes – areas that need to be changed or practices which may not be necessary.

If your business intends to comply with the GDPR, then carrying out a comprehensive privacy audit is the first step. A data audit is the best way for a business to establish its compliance with GDPR laws.

• Lawfulness, Transparency, and Fairness

• Purpose Limitation

• Data Minimisation

• Accuracy

• Storage Limitation

• Integrity and Confidentiality

• Accountability

You must obtain and use personal data in a fair and lawful manner.

Personal data must be stored no longer than is necessary.

Data must be collected for a specified purpose and held only long enough to achieve that purpose.

The data you hold must be accurate and you have an obligation to update or remove data that is inaccurate.

The data you hold must be protected against unlawful usage or accidental loss.

Appropriate methods must be used to securely maintain the data that you hold.

A professional data audit will determine if you are doing everything correctly and lawfully.

If your business processes personal data then you will need to be fully compliant with GDPR, regardless of your size.

Not complying with GDPR data protection laws can have serious regulatory consequences including notices of enforcement, fines and an order to stop processing – devastating if your business relies on the activity to operate.

UK businesses must still comply with GDPR laws even after we have left the EU.

Existing data protection legislation has been merged with new regulations to create a new ‘UK GDPR’ framework. The best thing for any business to do is to follow good practices to protect its individual data subjects, as well as itself.