Rincon India Solutions Pvt. Ltd.

Tag: General Data Protection Regulation

  • Reblog: Information security: is it a critical issue for companies?

    Security incidents related to sensitive information have the potential to negatively impact targeted businesses in a variety of ways.

    In recent years, many global businesses have fallen victim to hacks and been robbed of sensitive information about their customers. The impact of these incidents has the potential to negatively affect the targeted businesses in a variety of ways.

    It is therefore more relevant than ever to wonder whether information security should be a critical issue for companies.

    Here are some lines of thought that indicate it should.

    Information a company possesses can be a competitive advantage

    Anyone who runs a business also owns any information about the business itself. This includes information about the products or services it offers, business and financial plans, as well as information about the buyers of the goods or services.

    Some of this business data is used for risk mitigation, revenue optimization and overall improvement of an organization’s core business. By the mere fact that this data can generate future benefits, it becomes an asset that must be protected from the competition. Any information that can be used to grow a business should therefore remain secure and confidential.

    A sensitive data leak can destroy a company’s reputation

    Most companies aim to sell goods or services. Customers transmit sensitive information to them, even with a simple one-time purchase using a credit card. Of course, no serious company would intentionally abuse personal information about its customers. However, a simple unintentional data leak could easily affect their reputation.

    Personal information leaks and security breaches pose a real threat to businesses of all sizes. Moreover, when they happen, there is more than just money at stake. Imperfect data security puts all your customers at risk, and therefore the future of the business as well. Indeed, a good reputation takes years to build while it can be destroyed in just a few seconds.

    More and more governments are putting laws in place to ensure information security

    In addition to negatively affecting a company’s reputation, a leak of sensitive customer information can also have legal and financial ramifications. Many governments now have legislation that holds organizations accountable for the personal data they possess. Those found guilty of negligence at this level can face severe penalties.

    The European Union’s GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is a good example. Employed in Europe since 2018, its mission is “to give citizens control over their personal data, while simplifying the regulatory environment for businesses”.

    Get the best advice on data security

    For a company, ensuring perfect data security is no easy goal. However, compared to the undesirable consequences of an information leak, it is certainly worth considering information security as an important issue and securing your business data.

    To support organizations in adopting safe practices when sharing or storing sensitive data, XMedius offers tailored support to meet the specific needs of numerous industries.

    The original article can be found here.

    For more information e-mail us on sales@rincon.co.in and we will be glad to assist you.

  • Reblog: The GDPR primer: 5 Tips for getting your organization ready

    As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect on May 25th, many global organizations are still not fully aware of how this European legislation will affect their day-to-day operations.

    The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into full effect in a few days. It will introduce tough new privacy requirements for companies in the EU, as well as anyone who handles EU data. The new set of laws imposed by the GDPR will give consumers significantly more control over the ways in which their data is collected, distributed, kept, and destroyed.

    To successfully prepare for GDPR, companies of all sizes need to establish a solid foundation for meeting compliance before the new laws come into play. We’ve compiled a list of tips you can follow that will help you align your business practices and processes with GDPR regulations. Our list is not exhaustive, but can help businesses put a few preparations into place in advance.

    1. Raise Awareness

    Businesses handling personal data both in and outside of the EU must begin by developing a full understanding of the GDPR and exactly what it entails. It’s vital to recognize that GDPR applies to organizations everywhere in the world as long as they handle data containing any personal information about EU citizens, no matter where the data is stored. Make it a priority to circulate training videos or documentation containing detailed information on GDPR regulations around your organization so that everyone can begin to understand how it applies to your business processes.

    2. Develop a coherent privacy policy

    Organizations will need to clearly communicate with customers the purpose for which they are collecting their data under GDPR, so writing privacy policies that are easily understandable should become a top priority. Consumers need to be aware of their rights to disclose or refuse disclosure of personal information and understand the specific purpose for which it will be used. The GDPR also outlines that any information that’s collected for a stated purpose can only be used for that purpose after obtaining consent.

    Most companies practice transparency, but it’s important to make sure that privacy policies that contain a lot of fine print must be brought to the forefront and made legible and easy to understand or you could be faced with a fine. The fines for data breaches are huge – In cases of violation, the GDPR gives EU regulators the authority to impose fines of between 2 and 4 percent of a company’s global revenues.

    3. Prepare your data breach policy

    GDPR is no different than many regulations in that it requires you to inform consumers about data breaches that may affect their personal information – but with one catch – you have to do it within 72 hours. It’s one of the tightest timelines out there in the compliance world and may require that you revise your current data breach policy. Ensure that your insurance policies and internal procedures for incident reporting reflect the new law.

    4. Assess existing technology risks

    When strict regulations come into play, organizations need to reexamine the solutions they use to send and receive consumer information – it’s important to assess which solutions may need to be upgraded or replaced. If your HR, finance, or other departments are currently using inherently non-secure means of transmitting sensitive data between countries, it’s time to reassess your options. A cloud fax solution, for example, eliminates several of the security risks that come with using traditional fax machines.

    Cloud fax software enables employees to send and receive sensitive documents directly from their workstations, which means no more printed documents left lying around potentially falling into the wrong hands or being otherwise misplaced. Full knowledge of your organization’s technology risks can present opportunities to leverage existing solutions that will get rid of any security gaps in your infrastructure and help enable GDPR compliance.

    5. Investigate innovative new technologies

    GDPR will require companies handling personal data to develop strong data discovery and incident detection processes so that they can keep track of where their information is, and is being sent, at all times. Not everyone has a data controller on staff, and refining these processes doesn’t have to be a complicated task. Consider secure file exchange solutions that automate some of the workload for you.

    Solutions with features such as a built-in audit trail function eliminate guesswork by keeping a timestamped record of all files and documents that are transferred, whether inbound or outbound. Not only does can this boost organizational workflow, you’ll have a chronological record of system activities in case you’re ever up for audit. It’s all too common for organizations to transfer consumer’s personal information without the proper safeguards in place, which is why looking into new technologies that can improve your processes is so crucial.

    By understanding the GDPR in advance, you’ll get a stronger grasp of its requirements and be well on your way to mitigating any risks associated with how you handle personal data. Looking to boost security when sending and receiving sensitive information? Speak with an expert today to learn about solutions that will help take your organization’s security and compliance to the next level.

    The original article can be found here.

    E-mail us on sales@rincon.co.in for more information and we will be glad to assist you.

  • Reblog: GDPR is coming into effect on May 25th of 2018.

    As you may have already heard, The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), one of the most sweeping data regulations the world has known, is coming into effect on May 25th of this year. GDPR will affect businesses on a global scale, yet a surprising number of organizations remain unprepared.

    Once GDPR is enforced, companies around the world who are found to mishandle, exploit, or lose EU citizen’s personal data will face huge penalties including up to 4% of the companies’ annual revenue. Businesses can also face penalties depending on whether and how they inform customers when they’re hacked. Despite the risks of not being GDPR compliant, a government survey conducted just a couple of months ago in the UK revealed that a only 38% of businesses say they had heard of the GDPR, and among them, only a quarter had started making changes to their operations to get prepared. Since the GDPR act will be passed in the EU as a measure to protect its citizen’s data, one can only imagine the b pace at which the majority of North American companies are moving towards compliance.

    With more than 35 years’ experience in the high-tech and unified communications sector, AVST General Manager Tom Minifie has seen his fair share of regulatory compliance shifts, as well as their impacts on organizations. During his educational session, GDPR: Impact on Security from EU to the US, at Enterprise Connect last month, Tom discussed a few of the key concepts outlined in the GDPR, their impact on organizations, and practical ways that companies can work toward compliance.

    1. Consent: The New Gateway to Obtaining and Storing Personal Data

    One of the major requirements under GDPR is that businesses will have to obtain consent from EU citizens when obtaining their personal data. Businesses will also have to be transparent with the intended purpose of holding onto said data – much of which will involve developing new, clear privacy policies that cover data retention and storage guidelines.

    “Each individual that does business with you, that causes an occasion for you to collect personal information associated with them, they’ve got to be able to opt-in, essentially. Somebody that goes to a website and wants to order something, they know that they’re providing you with some personal information. They’re entering a credit card number, and they know why they’re doing that, but that doesn’t mean you can hold onto that [data],” said Tom Minifie. “Typically, online, you’re going to be able to opt-in […] Those are the kinds of transactions that are absolutely mandatory.”

    Becoming more transparent and asking for consent during any transaction where personal data is obtained will look different for each organization. While institutions in the healthcare, government, and finance sectors may be ahead of the game when it comes to communicating the why’s and how’s of obtaining personal data, the implications of the GDPR act are far wider reaching. This means retail stores will need to be clear when they ask for customer email addresses at the check-out, NPOs will need to be upfront when obtaining consent for personal info used for surveys, and more.

    2. Redefining Key GDPR Terms: Processor and Data Controller

    When first learning about GDPRdata processor and data controller as positions with a company. , perhaps only unique to larger enterprises requiring their expertise, Tom Minifie points to a much broader definition:

    “Essentially, any cloud provider is a processor. Anyone that’s processing data, may not be holding onto that data or doing anything with it for their own purposes, but if it’s flowing through their resources, then they’re a processor.

    AVST is a processor. We’ve got a number of cloud solutions for our customers. We host some communications solutions, and we have a security solution that people can use. As they’re using our hosted service, we are a processor when it comes to those companies. The data controller is the company itself.”

    Some companies do in fact have data processors and controllers on staff, but for any organization who processes personal data, it’s the company as a whole’s responsibility, not just at the level of management and compliance-dedicated employees, to ensure that personal data is handled with utmost care.

    3. Important Questions to Consider

    Lastly, Tom offered some advice to in the form of crucial questions for companies who are beginning to have conversations about achieving GDPR compliance:

    “Firstly, evaluate. What personal data do you actually have? What personal data are you storing, and what’s the purpose of that? Do you have a privacy policy so that any individual that you’ve got access to their personal data, do they understand through your privacy policy why you have that data? What data do you have, and why do you have it? What’s your use for that? Do you have High Availability/Disaster Recovery business continuity practices in place? Can you stand up and say “Look, we’re the protector of this data, and we’re not going to lose that data?” Even with an IT failure where you’ve lost a server or whatever, that data that was stored there, it’s not good enough to say, ‘Well, it’s gone.’ That’s not okay. You have to be able to recover that data as well.”

    When a major regulation that forces companies to reconsider how they obtain, handle, and process data like GDPR is looming, it can be intimidating for organizations of all sizes. Sometimes, the best way navigate through the complexity of a new regulation is with an honest appraisal of where your organization currently is. Then to take steps, not necessarily great leaps, on your journey towards compliance.

    The original article can be found here.

    To learn more contact us sales@rincon.co.in