6 Tips for Developing a GDPR-Compliant Privacy Policy

We’re down to the wire now; the GDPR compliance deadline is next Friday, May 25. As organizations scramble to get ready for the most far-reaching data privacy law ever put on the books, consumers’ email inboxes are being inundated with notices of GDPR-compliant privacy policy updates.

In addition to fundamentally transforming their data governance, most companies will need to update their website’s privacy policy to meet GDPR standards. Following are six tips for writing a GDPR-compliant privacy policy.

Use Clear, Plain Language

Attempting to overwhelm or confuse your site visitors by inundating them with pages of legalese is a big no-no. Article 12 of the GDPR mandates that a GDPR-compliant privacy policy be written “using clear and plain language, in particular for any information addressed specifically to a child.”

Inform Users of Their 8 Individual Rights Under the GDPR

Your GDPR-compliant privacy policy should inform users of their new individual data collection rights under the law:

1. The right to be informed, before any data is collected from them, about how their data is being collected, processed, and stored, and for what purposes.
2. The right to access their data after it has been collected and understand how it has been collected, processed, and stored, what data exists on them, and for what purposes.
3. The right to correct inaccurate or incomplete data (also known as the “right to rectification”).
4. The right to be forgotten/have their data erased, not just by your company but by any other firm you sold or transferred their data to.
5. The right to restrict the processing of their data.
6. The right to data portability, or the right to move, copy, or transfer personal data from one data controller to another safely, securely, and in a commonly used and machine-readable format.
7. The right to object to processing without explicit consent, including the right to ban the inclusion of their data in direct marketing databases.
8. The right to opt out of automated decision-making and demand that important decisions be made by humans, not algorithms.

Explain How You Will Collect & Use Users’ Personal Data

A GDPR-compliant privacy policy must clearly specify:

• Exactly what personal data is being collected and who will receive it.
• Whether users’ personal data is going to be transferred to a different country or an international organization.
• Your organization’s data retention policy. The GDPR bars companies from retaining user data beyond a “reasonable” period of time.
• Whether any automated processing will take place (remember, users can opt out of this).
• Whether the sharing of personal data is mandatory. For example, if users must provide personal data to create user names and gain access to certain parts of a website, the privacy policy must clearly explain what will happen if a user refuses.

Explain Your Legal Basis for Processing Users’ Personal Data

A GDPR-compliant privacy policy must clearly state your company’s purpose and legal basis for processing users’ personal data. The GDPR outlines six circumstances under which personal data can be lawfully processed:

1. The user has provided consent for processing for one or more specific purposes.
2. The processing is necessary as part of a contract with the user.
3. The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the controller is subject.
4. The processing is necessary to protect the vital interests of the data subject or another natural person.
5. The processing is necessary for the performance of a task carried out in the public interest or in the exercise of official authority vested in the controller.
6. The processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the controller or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by the interests or fundamental rights and freedoms of the consumer, in particular if the consumer is a child.

Include Contact Information

Every GDPR-compliant privacy policy must include the name and contact details of your company’s data controller and any representative, as well as your data protection officer (DPO), if your company must appoint a DPO.

Seek the Help of a GDPR Compliance Expert

GDPR compliance is complex and can be very confusing, and the penalties for non-compliance are staggering. To ensure your company doesn’t run afoul of the GDPR, it’s best to seek help from a reputable IT compliance expert such as Lazarus Alliance.

Is your organization ready for the GDPR compliance deadline on May 25? As part of our commitment to helping everyone prepare, Lazarus Alliance is offering a free GDPR readiness tool. Click here to take your GDPR readiness assessment and download your free report today!

The cyber security experts at Lazarus Alliance have deep knowledge of the cyber security field, are continually monitoring the latest information security threats, and are committed to protecting organizations of all sizes from security breaches. Our full-service risk assessment services and Continuum GRC RegTech software will help protect your organization from data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other cyber threats.

Lazarus Alliance is proactive cyber security®. Call 1-888-896-7580 to discuss your organization’s cyber security needs and find out how we can help your organization adhere to cyber security regulations, maintain compliance, and secure your systems.

Yes, U.S. companies must worry about EU GDPR compliance, too. Is your company ready?

With just over three weeks to go until the May 25, 2018, deadline, many U.S. companies are woefully unprepared for the EU’s new General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR. In fact, quite a few of them don’t yet realize they have to achieve EU GDPR compliance. A new survey by CompTIA found that “A full 52 percent of 400 U.S. companies surveyed are either still exploring the applicability of GDPR to their business; have determined that GDPR is not a requirement for their business; or are unsure.”

Additional findings from the CompTIA study include:

• Only 13% of U.S. companies surveyed reported having achieved full EU GDPR compliance, with 23% “mostly compliant” and 12% “somewhat compliant.”
• Only 25% of U.S. companies surveyed reported being “very” familiar with the EU GDPR.
• Only 22% of U.S. companies surveyed have developed a GDPR compliance plan, and only 21% have conducted data audits and readiness assessments
• Nearly one-third of U.S. companies surveyed mistakenly believe that the deadline for GDPR compliance is the end of 2018.
• 64% of U.S. companies surveyed are unaware of the [very stiff] penalties for not complying with the GDPR.

Respondents to the CompTIA survey listed accountability and allowing users to correct inaccuracies; data transparency and the rights of users to access their data; user consent; data portability; and the “right to be forgotten” as the most challenging aspects of EU GDPR compliance.

U.S. Companies and EU GDPR Compliance

The applicability of the GDPR to your business is not based on where your company is located, but on where your customers are located. If you conduct business with any individuals or organizations in the European Union, you must comply with the GDPR. Further, in addition to customer data; it also governs employee and human resources data.

How serious is the EU about enforcing GDPR compliance among U.S. companies? Last week, EU authorities flatly rejected a request from U.S.-based ICANN, which is in charge of the WHOIS “internet phonebook,” for more time to make WHOIS GDPR-compliant. Yes, that ICANN, and that WHOIS. This was not foisted on ICANN at the last moment; the organization had a two-year lead time to come up with a solution but dragged its feet. Because of the ICANN GDPR debacle, cyber security experts, law enforcement agencies, and IP attorneys fear that the WHOIS directory will become fragmented or go dark on May 25.

What Does the EU GDPR Mean for U.S. Companies?

The EU GDPR is arguably the most comprehensive, far-reaching data privacy law ever enacted. Among other things:

• It will require impacted companies to fundamentally alter their data governance and bake data security into their products, policies, procedures, and systems from day one.
• It will hold your organization responsible if one of your third-party vendors is breached.
• It grants EU “data subjects” sweeping data privacy rights, including data portability, the right to access their data, the right to withdraw consent, and the “right to be forgotten.”
• It mandates that organizations notify the authorities and affected customers within 72 hours of detecting a breach.

Much like HIPAA, the EU GDPR specifies what organizations must achieve, but it does not prescribe the specific technical controls to get there.

Is your organization ready for the GDPR compliance deadline on May 25? Lazarus Alliance has a free GDPR readiness tool. Click here to take your GDPR readiness assessment and download your free report today!

The cyber security experts at Lazarus Alliance have deep knowledge of the cyber security field, are continually monitoring the latest information security threats, and are committed to protecting organizations of all sizes from security breaches. Our full-service risk assessment services and Continuum GRC RegTech software will help protect your organization from data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other cyber threats.

Lazarus Alliance is proactive cyber security®. Call 1-888-896-7580 to discuss your organization’s cyber security needs and find out how we can help your organization adhere to cyber security regulations, maintain compliance, and secure your systems.

2018 Verizon Data Breach Report Finds That Ransomware Attacks Doubled Last Year

While cryptominers are on the rise, ransomware was the most prevalent form of malware in 2017, according to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report, released last week. Ransomware made its first appearance in Verizon’s 2013 report, and this is the second year in a row in which ransomware incidents doubled.

The 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report, which analyzed over 53,000 security incidents and more than 2,200 breaches, explained that the enduring popularity of ransomware makes sense from a cyber criminal’s perspective:

• Ransomware attacks are inexpensive to launch and pose very little risk to attackers.
• Attackers get paid right away instead of having to wait to sell stolen data.
• Ransomware is flexible; it can be used against both individuals and organizations.
• When used against organizations, it can cripple multiple computers at once, thus giving the attackers leverage to demand very large ransoms.

The healthcare industry continues to be plagued by ransomware attacks. While ransomware was responsible for 39% of incidents involving malicious code overall, in the healthcare industry, that figure was 85%. Further, 24% of breaches in the 2018 Verizon Data Breach report involved healthcare organizations, and healthcare was the only industry in which the majority of threat actors were insiders.

It is important to note that while ransomware was the most common type of malicious software, denial of service (DoS) attacks were 27 times more common.

Other notable findings from the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report include:

• When breaches are successful, the time to compromise is very short, measured in seconds or minutes. Conversely, discovery takes weeks or months; 68% of breaches take months or longer to detect. Breach mitigation takes weeks or months more.
• About three-quarters of cyber attacks are financially motivated. However, in the public sector and the manufacturing industry, the majority of breaches were cyber espionage attacks that sought to steal secrets.
• 58% of victims were categorized as small businesses.
• While nation-state hackers continue to grab headlines, and the threat they pose shouldn’t be ignored, they represented only 12% of all breaches in the Verizon report. Cyber attacks by organized crime groups were far more common; they were responsible for half of all breaches.
• While 78% of people did not click on a single phishing email all year, an average of 4% of people will click – and it only takes one click for a hacker to get into an enterprise system. Further, those same 4% of people tend to be repeat offenders; they’ve never seen a phishing link they didn’t like, and they’ll click again and again.
• Companies are three times more likely to be breached as the result of a social engineering attack than an actual vulnerability.

Lessons from the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Report

When developing proactive cyber security defenses, it is critical to understand the specific threats that organizations in your industry are most likely to face. For example, the healthcare industry is struggling with ransomware; the public sector and the manufacturing industry are most likely to face cyber espionage threats; and accommodation and food services attacks are dominated by POS system breaches.

Cyber security tips that apply to all industries include:

• Stay on top of your systems and users; monitor your network for suspicious behavior.
• Give employees the minimum amount of system access they need to perform their jobs, and no more.
• Ensure that your employees receive comprehensive and ongoing training in best cyber security practices.
• Employ two-factor authentication to prevent hackers from being able to use stolen credentials.
• Always back up your systems and data, and encrypt sensitive data so that it’s useless even if it is stolen.

The cyber security experts at Lazarus Alliance have deep knowledge of the cyber security field, are continually monitoring the latest information security threats, and are committed to protecting organizations of all sizes from security breaches. Our full-service risk assessment services and Continuum GRC RegTech software will help protect your organization from data breaches, ransomware attacks, and other cyber threats.

Lazarus Alliance is proactive cyber security®. Call 1-888-896-7580 to discuss your organization’s cyber security needs and find out how we can help your organization adhere to cyber security regulations, maintain compliance, and secure your systems.