General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) was first introduced on May 25th last year. Over-riding the previous out-dated Data Protection Regulations (1998); incorporating a more modern outlook. The rules were made to strengthen the individuals’ rights to data privacy.

Our UK watchdog ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) are the ones who’ve been monitoring this regulation for businesses in the UK. Given that it’s been a year, you’ve probably seen the numerous reports over the year, revealing various big companies committing severe data breaches.

The question is, has GDPR helped since first being introduced?  

Has anything changed for the better?

 

GDPR One Year: What’s Happened In A Year?

1 year gdpr

Not as remarkable as you’d expect. Especially when you take into consideration that GDPR was “supposed” to be the nail in the coffin, Y2K end of the world hyperbole. Least to the press anyway.

Here are some of the global figures from a year in GDPR:

They were found not to have sufficiently informed people about how their data would be used in line with personalised advertising.

  • 281,088 total cases, with the overwhelming majority being data breach complaints.

Companies are still having a hard time keeping compliant under the new regulations. Researchers have theorised that data storage is one of the significant hurdles that’s hindering businesses alike. Keeping a hold of the data, fine-tuning a process of elimination and altogether trying to stay compliant has led to complaint after complaint, issue after issue.

That’s what happens with new laws surely?

Well for businesses and consumers alike, this has led to a few trips and falls along the way.

 

GDPR: On-Going Process

gdpr process

You may have seen some of these issues yourself. Whenever looking at news outlets or logging into Yahoo. The cookie management and automatic opt-in/opt-out features make navigating the web a big hassle.

Unfortunately, another side-effect to GDPR is the various attempts to find loopholes in the law. Individuals have exploited the “right to be forgotten” article, with one scam artist attempting to remove all traces of his court trial from the internet.

While the public opinion to the lead up of GDPR was a tinge of hysteria and puzzlement, watchdog ICO never changed their side of the story. The introduction of GDPR from the start was always going to be an ongoing process, not merely fines by the bucketload. In fact, in just a year, there were 29 fines, which accounted for 0.25 of all recorded data breaches.

Don’t see this as a reprieve. While the first year of GDPR was very much a transition year; as we move on, ICO could start enforcing their powers more fervently. It’s better to be safe than sorry, which is why we recommend disposing of any and all confidential information in the most secure and reliable manner possible.

 

GDPR: Confidential Shredding

gdpr shredding

Before you start disposing of confidential information, you should know about personal data. Personal data is any information that relates to a  living person; for companies, this could be employees and customer records. If you’ve rendered the information anonymous in such a way that the person isn’t identifiable, then it’s no longer considered personal data.

Personal data can be everything from ID numbers, photos and biometric data (height, fingerprints) to name a few. A straightforward way of making data anonymous is by removing it, for example, ex-employee and old customer records. That information is a data breach waiting to happen.

At Direct365, we’re experts in waste disposal, and that includes disposing of any confidential information. To give that extra piece of mind, our on-site service allows you the opportunity to see how we dispose of your documents in real-time.

With our off-site service, our vetted staff will transport your data from locked units to secure vans. All vehicles are GPS-tracked and then sent to secure, monitored facilities.

 

Whatever option you choose, we’ll provide you with all the correct paperwork.

For an expert, trusted service, get in touch today for a free instant quote.

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