Effective Data Protection Managing information in an era of change

How effective is your data protection strategy?

As technology continues to evolve at advanced rate data protection law and regulation has developed to take on board concerns over areas such as privacy, data security, identity theft and fraud. It is vital that organisations fully understand the breadth of risk involved with managing and handling data, and create strategies for effective compliance.

Effective Data Protection provides a thorough insight to the regulatory changes together with advice and guidance on how to develop a more strategic approach to data protection compliance, how to assess and monitor risks and how to engage staff in best practice.

The Q&A section provides practical examples of solutions to range of common data protection problems and issues, including fair processing and marketing, record keeping, websites and the international transfer of data.

Why you should read this book

Author Mandy Webster offers some thoughts:

Data protection regulation is at the crossroads.

The Madrid Protocol is a new international set of principles for data protection.  It has the backing of 100+ countries worldwide and on all 5 continents.  Major multinational organisations including Disney and IBM subscribe to it.

The European Union no longer sets the “gold standard” in data protection.  Overtaken by the Madrid Protocol, the 1995 Data Protection Directive is also technically undermined by the Lisbon Treaty which altered the legal structure of EU activities.  There are shortcomings too in the current data protection framework around international transfers and off-shoring.

The EU has announced that it will be revising data protection law with proposals due for publication in the summer of 2011.

The UK regulator has expressed the hope that the existing data protection principles will be retained as they continue to be relevant and any changes to the basic legal framework would lead to confusion.  However it seems likely that there will be new requirements around accountability for data protection, serious data protection breach notification obligations and increased transparency.

In this context, organisations need to make sure they’re ready for what could be some serious change. The key is a more strategicapproach to data protection compliance which is embedded at all levels and across all functions within organisations. There's never been a better time to review what you do.