Creating a culture of data security awareness is crucial for keeping your business safe. A successful data breach could cause your business to lose vital information, as well as incur expensive fines from the government, and harm your brand’s reputation with clients and business partners. 

The most noteworthy legislation mandating firms to take proactive steps to train their staff on proper privacy practices include data protection regulations like the GDPR and PIPEDA. 

For instance, beginning on May 25, 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) became operative. One of the primary modifications is to the GDPR’s higher penalties, which can reach up to 20 million euros or 4% of annual sales. 

Employees are typically the ones who violate the GDPR and face penalties. It is crucial to raise people’s understanding of sensitive data protection law procedures and arm them with the information they need to be able to abide by the GDPR’s new rules. 

What are the advantages of routine employee data protection training, and why is it necessary? 

Almost every business uses IT systems to process personal data on a daily basis in compliance with Article 4 of the GDPR. This makes adhering to the GDPR’s data protection requirements a crucial duty for businesses in various lines of business. The requirements will mostly need to be completed by personnel, as already said. As a result, their training is a logical requirement for complying with the GDPR’s standards. Additionally, it is simple to incorporate additional teaching materials, such as guidelines for data security and trade secrets, with employee training in data protection law without erasing the distinctions between the two subjects. 

Does the GDPR mandate that employees receive data protection training? 

There is no clear requirement for employees to get data protection training under the GDPR.  Different GDPR provisions, however, place indirect requirements on businesses to provide personnel with the necessary training. Even while the absence of training in and of itself is not punishable by fines, the data protection violations that emerge from its absence are. 

If a violation of data protection laws poses a significant danger of impairing the rights and freedoms of natural persons, organizations are required under GDPR Articles 33 and 34 to notify supervisory authorities and data subjects. 

A fine may be imposed under the GDPR for violating these reporting requirements. Companies can successfully think about this reporting requirement, but only if their staff is taught to identify data protection requirements that have been broken and to determine whether there is a high danger that the rights and freedoms of natural persons are being violated. 

A data protection officer must be appointed in particular if a company’s primary activity entails the extensive processing of particularly sensitive personal data (as defined in Articles 9 and 10 of the GDPR, such data includes health information, information about one’s ancestry, and information about union membership) (Article 37. GDPR), Article 3. 

Other instances in which such a designation is required are listed in Article 7 of the GDPR, such as in the routine observation of individuals or in some administrative tasks. The so-called opening clause in Article 37 Para.4 of the GDPR allows national lawmakers to define the ordering requirements for data protection officers.  

This holds true for a lot of businesses today. Particularly, if a situation arises that would necessitate a GDPR-compliant data protection impact assessment, a data protection officer must be engaged. This is especially true when dealing with extremely sensitive information or other serious threats to data subjects’ rights. Contrary to the other circumstances of 38 BDSG-neu, the ordering responsibility is no longer affected by the number of employees who process personal data. 

The data protection commissioner is required by GDPR Art. 39 to inform “workers carrying out processing operations” of their data protection responsibilities. In some cases, the company may also be held accountable for the data protection officer’s violations, which could result in sanctions. This is particularly true if the firm falls short of its duty under GDPR Article 38 to adequately support the data protection officer in carrying out his duties. 

Which departments should receive training on data protection law? 

The IT department, in addition to the data protection officer himself, is crucial because it must apply the GDPR’s requirements, notably with regard to the principles of data economy and data protection-friendly technological settings (privacy by design, privacy by default). Product designers are similarly responsible. All employees should also have a fundamental understanding of data protection law as, in theory, every employee may be involved in the processing of personal data, not just customer advisors and consultants. To make sure that internal data protection requirements are followed, it is crucial to separately teach the HR department and the works committee. 

What subjects should be covered in a course for employees? 

Prior to anything else, the employees should be taught the fundamentals of “personal data,” “processing,” and “rights and freedoms of natural persons.” When do these procedures happen? Why are these processes so deserving of protection in particular? 

The most crucial fundamental data protection legal principles should then be discussed. For instance, the ideas of data economy, transparency, and information duties are included here. The principles of prohibition with the reserve of authorization through consent and balancing of interests must also be explained, together with the rules for lawful data processing. 

Finally, it is important to discuss the differences between data processing under the GDPR and under the previous legal framework. 

In general, factors relevant to a company or industry, like special rules for personal data transferred via US servers, should always be considered. 

How should workers be educated on the law governing data protection? 

Employees should, in theory, receive training on both the existence of the processing of personal data and the technical options for putting the GDPR’s requirements into practice. Repeating online courses, role-plays, lectures, etc. on a regular basis would help employees retain their knowledge over the long term and keep up with new advancements. This is in line with the principles of the learning spiral. 

Online courses provide a quick and simple approach to start educating your own personnel without the need for software installation or extensive planning, allowing you to benefit from data protection training.  

Companies are strongly cautioned against using non-expert workers as trainers who have attended external training sessions themselves. This approach is unlikely to be successful in ensuring compliance with the GDPR’s occasionally complicated requirements. The accreditation of data protection training programs serves the specific objective of making it possible for staff members to receive instruction in line with GDPR regulations. 

Conclusion  

When employees are informed about data privacy, they frequently associate it with data security and generally brush it off as something the IT department should handle. This is the furthest thing from the truth. Data privacy is concerned with how data is gathered, kept, and communicated whereas data security is concerned with how data is safeguarded from both internal and external threats. 

Although hardware and software can stop breaches, the largest threat to data security and privacy is thought to be people. It is crucial to educate personnel about these differences in order to secure a company’s confidential information. 

Companies should act now to train their staff on data protection rules because the GDPR is already in place. The ease with which data protection law training courses can be implemented, along with opportunities to incorporate the principles of data security, should encourage businesses to take advantage of pertinent offers of expert advice. This is true not only because the GDPR threatens to impose high fines, but also because it provides opportunities to integrate the principles of data security. 

How can Tsaaro help? 

Knowing what’s new in the field of data privacy is essential for establishing a proactive and updated privacy training program. New developments quickly emerge and have the potential to alter how organizations view data privacy for both themselves and their clients. 

Tsaaro Academy strives to offer the best instruction and training possible in the field of data privacy. As an IAPP Official Training Partner, we not only want to offer CIPP/E, CIPT, and CIPM certifications and training but also to assist students in getting real-world experience by working with them on real-world projects through our consulting business at Tsaaro. We close the talent gap in the worldwide market by facilitating entry into the data privacy industry for privacy lovers through courses like Data Privacy Fundamentals and Data Protection Officer Certification.