Data Protection (GDPR)

A data breach is any incident where personal data is accidentally lost, destroyed, altered, disclosed, or accessed without authorization. This includes cyber attacks, lost devices, sending data to wrong recipients, or unauthorized staff access. You must notify the ICO within 72 hours if the breach is likely to result in risk to individuals' rights and freedoms. You must also notify affected individuals if there's high risk to their rights and document all breach details and response actions.

You need a DPO if you're a public authority, regularly monitor individuals on a large scale, or regularly process special category data on a large scale. A DPO monitors compliance, conducts privacy impact assessments, trains staff, acts as a contact point for data subjects and regulators, and provides expert advice on data protection matters. Even if not legally required, appointing a DPO demonstrates commitment to compliance and can help prevent costly breaches.

Data subjects have eight key rights: to be informed, access their data, rectify inaccurate data, erase data, restrict processing, data portability, object to processing, and rights regarding automated decision-making. You must respond to most requests within one month, free of charge in most cases. Establish clear procedures for receiving, verifying, and responding to requests. Failure to respond appropriately can result in ICO enforcement action and potential fines.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is comprehensive data protection legislation that governs how personal data is collected, processed, and stored. Yes, GDPR still applies to UK businesses post-Brexit through the UK GDPR, which mirrors EU GDPR requirements. UK businesses processing EU residents' data must also comply with EU GDPR. Penalties include fines up to 4% of global turnover or £17.5 million, whichever is higher, making compliance essential for all businesses handling personal data.

GDPR compliance costs vary significantly based on business size and complexity. Initial compliance audits cost £2,000-£10,000, privacy policy drafting £500-£2,000, and ongoing compliance support £1,000-£5,000 annually. However, these costs are minimal compared to potential GDPR fines (up to 4% of global turnover), breach response costs (£5,000-£25,000), and reputational damage. Investment in compliance typically pays for itself by preventing much larger costs from violations.

A DPIA is a process to identify and minimize data protection risks in new projects or processing activities. You need a DPIA when processing is likely to result in high risk to individuals, such as systematic monitoring, large-scale special category data processing, automated decision-making, or new technologies. The DPIA must describe the processing, assess necessity and proportionality, identify risks, and outline mitigation measures. Some high-risk processing cannot proceed without a completed DPIA.

Yes, but with restrictions. UK to EU transfers are currently allowed under an adequacy decision, but this could change. For other countries, you need appropriate safeguards like standard contractual clauses, binding corporate rules, or adequacy decisions. You must also assess whether the destination country's laws provide adequate protection. International transfers are complex and require careful legal analysis to ensure compliance with both UK and destination country requirements.

Your privacy policy must include: your identity and contact details, processing purposes and legal bases, categories of data collected, recipients of data, retention periods, data subject rights, complaint procedures, and international transfer details. The policy must be written in clear, plain language that people can understand. It should be easily accessible, regularly updated, and specific to your actual processing activities rather than using generic templates that may not reflect your business practices.