Introduction: 

In May 2016, the European Union adopted the General Data Protection Regulation or GDPR. GDPR replaces the already existing 1995 Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC. After a 2 year time of grace period, GDPR came into force on May 25, 2018.  Since May 2018 the National supervisory authorities who were responsible for the enforcement of GDPR at the state level have been working actively to ensure proper compliance with GDPR.

According to the provisions of GDPR, the penalty for non-compliance is usually high. For instance, According to Article 83 (4), the less severe infringements of GDPR could result in a fine of up to 10 million Euros or 2 % of the firm’s annual revenue from the preceding financial year, whichever is higher. 

According to Article 83(5) for more severe infringement of GDPR, the firm can be liable to pay up to 20 million euros or 4 % of annual turnover, whichever is more.

According to the CMS GDPR enforcement tracker database, till October 18, 2023, are total of 1845 GDPR fines have been levied against corporations for GDPR violations, The total monetary penalty amounts to a whopping 4.4 billion Euros. Another survey conducted by DLA Piper titled “GDPR Fines and Data Breach Survey “released in January 2023 analyzed that there is a 50 % year-on-year increase in aggregated GDPR fines. Also, the instances of fines referred to EDPB during 2022 for a ruling were increased by 630%.  This increase shows that the National Data Protection Authorities are actively willing to strengthen the compliance of GDPR and confidently levying huge fines to showcase their intention for strict compliance.

Apart from the monetary penalty, the probability of losing customer trust and reputation is inevitable. For instance, according to a report jointly published by Forbes and IBM titled “ The Reputational impact of IT Risk”  founds that 46 % of organizations after experiencing a data breach have suffered reputational damage and 19% of organizations have suffered brand damage and reputational damage as a result of third party security breach. 

So with the sophisticated shift of collecting a sizable number of personal information for improving personalized services, the risk of breaching GDPR provisions is highly inevitable. To improve the path of GDPR compliance, the necessity of hiring well-qualified data privacy professionals becomes paramount. 

Hiring a CIPP / E or CIPM Certified Professional: 

There are “n” number of certifications and trainings for learning GDPR. But to fully comply with GDPR it is inherent to have a holistic approach to Data Protection. With a huge number of applicants who were misleading companies by branding themselves as GDPR-certified professionals, it is a herculean task for companies to find a qualified person. It is of no use to hire a person who can remember the 99 provisions of GDPR. The enforcement of GDPR requires a solid understanding of the Data Protection law and other adjacent guidelines released by various National supervisory authorities. 

To rectify this problem, hiring a CIPP/E or CIPM-certified professional is the only feasible solution in hand. 

For instance, consider the syllabus of the CIPP/E exam. The whole idea of CIPP/E certification is to have a comprehensive knowledge of GDPR and data protection in Europe thereby equipping privacy professionals to implement a GDPR compliance privacy program. 

The syllabus for the CIPP/E exam is divided into three important headings: 

1. Introduction to European Data Protection: 

In the first part of the module, the learner is trained in the origins of data protection laws around the world and the important conventions and rationale behind the origin of separate domains of data protection laws. 

The second part of this module will deal exclusively with all the institutions in the European Union including the European Court of Human Rights, the European Parliament, the European Council, Court of Justice of the European Union. It is essential for a privacy professional to have a deep understanding of the administrative and judicial system of the European Union to represent and follow up on their cases in the concerned institution. 

The third part of this module deals with all the legislative frameworks: GDPR and other relevant sector-specific frameworks like the EU Directive on Electronic Commerce, NIS 1 and 2 Directive, and the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. 

The sector-specific approach will be relevant for data privacy professionals working in industries handling sensitive categories of data . For example Bio medical corporations. 

2. European Data Protection law and regulation. 

This module is divided into 11 parts. 

This module exclusively deals with the concepts of: 

• Data Protection controls
• Territorial and Material Scope of GDPR 
• Data Processing Principles
• Lawful Processing criteria
• Information Provision obligations 
• Data Subjects rights 
• Security of personal data
• Accountability requirements 
• International Data transfers 
• Supervision and enforcement 
• Consequences for GDPR violations 

3. Compliance with European Data Protection law and regulation: 

This module has been divided into four parts namely: 

• Employment relationship
• Surveillance Activities 
• Direct Marketing 
• Internet technology and communications

This module deals exclusively with the importance of emerging novel technologies like Artificial intelligence, search engine marketing, machine learning, CCTV etc. and the relevant privacy implications of using such technologies. 

Syllabus of CIPM certification: 

The success of being compliant with GDPR depends upon the effectiveness of implementing and managing a privacy program.

The ability to manage a privacy programme demands a comprehensive grasp of the lifespan of an operational privacy programme; this cannot be acquired by attending lectures or videos at random. 

The syllabus of CIPM is divided into six domains: 

• Domain 1: Privacy Program: Developing a framework 
• Domain 2: Privacy Program: Establishing Program Governance 
• Domain 3: Privacy Program Operational Life Cycle: Assessing Data 
• Domain 4: Privacy Program Operational Life Cycle: Protecting Personal Data 
• Domain 5: Privacy Program Operational Life Cycle: Sustaining Program Performance 
• Domain 6: Privacy Program Operational Life Cycle: Responding to Requests and Incidents

To understand the significance of this certification, the US National Project for Cyber Security and Studies regarded CIPM certification as the sole accreditation that can assist the learners in comprehending the “How to “of administration of privacy programs and privacy training. 

Aside from the compliance perspective, privacy professionals may manage to land their ideal six-figure position.

 For instance, according to the “2023 IAPP Privacy Professionals salary survey”  the average base salary of internal privacy professionals was around $146,200  ( approximately INR  1,21,77,217 ) and external privacy lawyers earn a base salary of around $200,800 (approximately INR  1,67,25,445). 

How Tsaaro Academy can help you? : 

If you are interested in pursuing CIPP/E or CIPM certification, then Tsaaro Academy is the best choice you will never regret. The trainers of the Tsaaro Academy consist of industry experts from diverse backgrounds including cyber security, law, engineering, management etc. who has an in-hand experience in implementing the compliance of  Data Protection legislations like GDPR, DPDPA etc. The training modules prepared by such qualified experts will not only be focused on monotonous lectures but also notes on the provisions of GDPR. Rather it is structured in a way to address the real-life day-to-day obligations which can be encountered by the data privacy professionals while enforcing such GDPR provisions. This unique multi-dimensional holistic approach will help you to pass the CIPP/E or CIPM exam on the first attempt and to land a dream privacy role. 

How to improve your stagnant career? 

Apart from IAPP certifications, Tsaaro Academy offers a huge variety of training and certifications ranging from C – DPO ( India), ISO – 27001 Lead Auditor, CEH v12 training etc. For further details, please visit Tsaaro Academy. You may also get in touch with our professionals to get help with your next steps.