The modern age is all about encryption of data and privacy shield. Whether it is a social media app or business, the need for data privacy has increased to a great extent. After the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in 2018, the need of being responsible towards the individuals and their data is well understood by the companies. And this led to the unexpected emergence of privacy laws that were primarily focused by the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These laws explained the need of data governance and protecting data subjects and all the sensitive information of individuals that work in an organisation. After this came into light, many organisations designed frameworks that complied with the laws. In this article we will be making you understand the importance of maintaining the Record of Processing Activities (ROPA).
The Need Of Transparency
Privacy and transparency are two terms that contradict each other in every means. But in today’s reality, these two terms go hand in hand. Privacy in terms of transparency is something that we need to focus on in our organisations.
The question is how clear are the organisations and companies about their data policies and processes, their way of processing data, reporting abilities etc is what matters. Are the companies actually providing every detail in their data classification subjects and documentations? Are they fairly transparent with their employees?
Privacy and transparency both are the need of the hour. One way we think of having privacy, at the same time transparency into data practices and policies is important too. It helps to build trust in the organisation, ensures and enables accountability. Being an organisation you can not prove that you honor the preferences of data subjects if you are unable to find and record the data throughout your organization. You need to be capable of remediating problems with important information if you can not find where it went wrong. Though data discovery is essential too but in case you can not, then having sensitive information can help you get rid of problems.
There was a time when most of the companies lacked motivation to build effective and efficient privacy programs. Earlier there was no understanding about the need for accountability for privacy offices and organizations. Without a push from regulators and threat of penalties from violations no open source took this seriously. But it was after the emergence of GDPR that everything became possible.
GDPR and ROPAs
GDPR came as a light in the world for organisations and businesses that brought accountability into foreground with Article 30.
As per Article 30, controllers or data processors who are in charge need to maintain a Record of Processing Activities for everyone. This means that all the processors muach be capable of providing all the required details on the data they collect. These details could be anything from name to the third party transfer information. To be precise, the details include –
- Name
- Contact information
- Categories of data subjects
- Personal data they processed
- Categories of recipients with whom data will be shared
- Third-party transfer information
- Retention and destruction policies
- The need for data processing activities
- The technical and administrative security measures
All the above mentioned information is what companies must be capable of providing to the supervisory authorities upon their request. Also, the story doesn’t end here. There are many companies that demand additional information. Hence the organisation must be prepared to supply the other records too.
It is also advised to the companies that they must have a system for consent management too. This system can include records of consent, agreement with processors, location of personal data, references to the security incidents, data protection impact assessment and answers to the questions like, whether the data was processed on a lawful basis. This is among the top requirements in the ROPA list.
Keeping record is not only a need but also a perk for organisations. It empowers them to provide authorities with right information and also showcase the effective practices that are carried out in the premises. Basically, these things add up to a company’s image of how they protect their data or optimise their data privacy programs. It is therefore an important accountability instrument that every organisation should have.
The only failure to demonstrate how a company implements accountability practices occurs when the data is not accurate and comprehensive. If there is any glitch in the information, everything goes to waste.
Automate Your Data To Know Your Data
It is high time that you plan on having a data mapping software that lets you automate all the data from time to time. Though the step seems to be a little overwhelming, this single step would take you many miles long. All you need to do is take meaningful steps towards knowing your data by managing it in the right way.
Organisations should build an effective and accurate data inventory by following the CCPA Compliance or GDPR Compliance Checklist. This list offers the right roadmap to complete visibility into all of your dta, may it be personal and sensitive.
We at Secuvy, help you build and update an inventory that has all of your data and information, integration policies and a lot more. These indexed folders would help you explain the data you have along with the purpose of data collection and processing.
The word accurate bitly has got a whole new meaning today as it covers all the technical measures that are adapted by a company. The automated mapping and classification can let you establish a full proof privacy program.
To know more about how we can help you and your company, connect with us today.
