Legal Sector
Data, Application and Operational Security has always been a concern for Small and Large Enterprises and indeed high profile Data Breaches and Cyber Attacks have increased in number over recent years. Private Data and Public submission of that data is prevalent within the Legal Sector from Corporate transactions to Conveyancing and with GDPR looming large, Business processes and active Data Management is fundamental.
Legal Sector Security Model
**After four years of preparation and debate the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), was finally approved by the EU Parliament on 14 April 2016. Enforcement date: 25 May 2018 - at which time those organisations in non-compliance may face heavy fines. It's core principles being:**
Breach Notification
Under the GDPR, breach notification will become mandatory in all member states where a data breach is likely to "result in a risk for the rights and freedoms of individuals". This must be done within 72 hours of first having become aware of the breach. Data processors will also be required to notify their customers, the controllers, "without undue delay" after first becoming aware of a data breach.
Right to Access
Part of the expanded rights of data subjects outlined by the GDPR is the right for data subjects to obtain from the data controller confirmation as to whether or not personal data concerning them is being processed, where and for what purpose. Further, the controller shall provide a copy of the personal data, free of charge, in an electronic format. This change is a dramatic shift to data transparency and empowerment of data subjects.
Right to be Forgotten
Also known as Data Erasure, the right to be forgotten entitles the data subject to have the data controller erase his/her personal data, cease further dissemination of the data, and potentially have third parties halt processing of the data. The conditions for erasure, as outlined in article 17, include the data no longer being relevant to original purposes for processing, or a data subjects withdrawing consent. It should also be noted that this right requires controllers to compare the subjects' rights to "the public interest in the availability of the data" when considering such requests.
Data Portability
GDPR introduces data portability - the right for a data subject to receive the personal data concerning them, which they have previously provided in a 'commonly use and machine readable format' and have the right to transmit that data to another controller.
Privacy by Design
Privacy by design as a concept has existed for years now, but it is only just becoming part of a legal requirement with the GDPR. At it's core, privacy by design calls for the inclusion of data protection from the onset of the designing of systems, rather than an addition. More specifically - 'The controller shall..implement appropriate technical and organisational measures..in an effective way.. in order to meet the requirements of this Regulation and protect the rights of data subjects'. Article 23 calls for controllers to hold and process only the data absolutely necessary for the completion of its duties (data minimisation), as well as limiting the access to personal data to those needing to act out the processing.
Data Protection Officers
Currently, controllers are required to notify their data processing activities with local DPAs, which, for multinationals, can be a bureaucratic nightmare with most Member States having different notification requirements. Under GDPR it will not be necessary to submit notifications / registrations to each local DPA of data processing activities, nor will it be a requirement to notify / obtain approval for transfers based on the Model Contract Clauses (MCCs). Instead, there will be internal record keeping requirements, as further explained below, and DPO appointment will be mandatory only for those controllers and processors whose core activities consist of processing operations which require regular and systematic monitoring of data subjects on a large scale or of special categories of data or data relating to criminal convictions and offences. Importantly, the DPO:
- Must be appointed on the basis of professional qualities and, in particular, expert knowledge on data protection law and practices
- May be a staff member or an external service provider
- Contact details must be provided to the relevant DPA
- Must be provided with appropriate resources to carry out their tasks and maintain their expert knowledge
- Must report directly to the highest level of management
- Must not carry out any other tasks that could results in a conflict of interest.
We recognise that within the Legal Professional there are a number of Small to Medium sized organisations who are in-between a rock and and hard place when it comes to Information Technology Security.
With the big players in the market being expensive many have been left to their own devices to interpret and implement solutions to meet the every increasing Cyber threats.
We understand the Sector and risks that prevail both in terms of compliance and protection which is why we believe our model is attractive, facilitating a tiered approach to ensure that you maximise the benefits of our Services either by means of a one-off, ad-hoc or Service based arrangement.