ICO Data Protection

Learn about data protection

What is the ICO?

The ICO (Information Commissioner's Office) is the UK’s independent body dedicated to upholding information rights in the public interest and data privacy for individuals. It enforces the Data Protection Act and the GDPR as well as other important pieces of legislation such as the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations.

One of the main roles of the ICO is to ensure that organisations comply with these laws, under these laws organisations must meet standards for data protection and confidentiality. The ICO has a duty to investigate complaints from members of the public and can impose hefty fines on businesses that are seen to be flouting data protection rules.

What is the ICO data protection register?

The Data Protection (Charges and Information) Regulations 2018 requires every organisation that processes personal information to pay a fee to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), unless they are exempt. Failure to do so will result in a fixed penalty. There are more than 900,000 fee payers. The ICO register and publish:

You can search the register by clicking here

14 Things All Small Businesses Need to Know About Data Protection

Source: ico.org.uk

Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for a while, here are 14 things all small businesses need to know about data protection.

Where does GDPR fit in?

The UK General Data Protection regulation has taken over from the EU GDPR that came into force on 25th May 2018 – this is following the UK’s split from Europe. The General Data Protection Regulation is the toughest privacy and security law in the world. With the GDPR, Europe was signalling its firm stance on data privacy and security at a time when more people are entrusting their personal data with cloud services and breaches are a daily occurrence. The regulation itself is large, far-reaching, and fairly light on specifics, making GDPR compliance a daunting prospect, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The New UK GDPR is effectively a copy of the EU GDPR with a few minor amendments, it also gives the UK the independence to keep the framework under review. The ‘UK GDPR’ sits alongside an amended version of the Data Protection Act 2018. In Summary for UK GDPR Data the key principles, rights and obligations remain the same. However, there are implications for the rules on transfers of personal data between the UK and the EEA. GDPR data protection is focussed on Personal data and ensuring an individual’s privacy and rights are protected when information about them has been collected or processed. To help businesses understand this UK GDPR has seven key principles: -

Further information can be found on the ICO’s website at: The principles | ICO

GDPR & Data Protection

How do I ensure I’m complying?

Here at Solutions we carry out a regular GDPR Audit to ensure our controls, policies and procedures meet the requirements of GDPR and DPA 2018, and also identify any areas for improvement. These GDPR audits also align with our requirements under our ISO 27001 and IASME Governance certification. There are no questions that our Management system for ISO 27001 and IASME Governance have assisted with GDPR and DPA compliance, as not only do we have our own regular internal audits we also have annual external audits, meaning these areas of our business are checked frequently. Regular checks are important as Businesses and the data it holds can change daily.

If you don’t have the skills in house to do your own audits or don’t have certifications requiring external audits, you can request a GDPR audit from the ICO for free. Further details can be found at: - Audits | ICO

As a business you can also utilise GDPR consultancy services, where someone experienced in these regulations will provide assistance to firstly identify your risks and also put the correct controls, policies and procedures in place. If you don’t have the skillsets in house, this can often be the most cost-effective way of putting a good system in place, and ensuring that system actually complies.

GDPR & Data Protection

What if I don’t have the time ?

All businesses have to comply with different laws and regulations – and this is one of them, done properly this should make your business more efficient and carry less risk. So it’s a case of needing to invest the time.

A significant data loss could be detrimental to your business, even a minor breach could have a significant impact, please read the following link on the ICO’s website.

ICO Enforcement: Enforcement action | ICO

If you would like further information or any advice please contact one of our security team using the contact form below, or call 0121 289 4477.

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