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Why data protection is crucial to your company and ways you can implement protection strategies in it

By Hugh Fort in News Stories, posted November 10, 2022

Did you know that around 60% of small businesses fail in their first 3 years of operating? There are many reasons for this including a poor businesses plan, poor marketing, failure to adapt to market change and running out of funds.

There are many ways that businesses can run out of money including financial mismanagement and lack of sales but one that most people aren’t aware of is fines for not complying with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The fines for not complying with GDPR can range up to £17.5 million which could be enough to bankrupt most UK businesses.

If you’re not currently complying with GDPR rules or you’re looking to implement protection strategies into your business, then this article can help. Read on to find out more.

What is GDPR?

GDPR is a policy that ensures any data that could identify an individual is kept secure and protected to avoid it being used against them. This policy ensures companies of all sizes know what they can and can’t do with personal information.

Personal information includes:

Name
Phone number
Address
Date of Birth
Bank account
Passport number
Health records
Race
Religious beliefs

Failure to keep this data protected may lead to sanctions made on your business, so you must do everything you can to ensure your business and its employees comply with GDPR rules.

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How can you comply with GDPR

Implement the following strategies in your company to ensure staff members know exactly what to do.

Training sessions

When people join your business, try to offer them GDPR training as soon as possible to ensure they know what’s expected of them from the start.

Refresher sessions

Employees that have been at your company for a while may not have done GDPR training for a long time. This means they may hay have forgotten how to remain compliant with the rules. Offer refresher sessions every year to jog their memory.

Store information in safe places

Whatever data your business stores should only be held in reliable places that are unlikely to be hacked. You can store this information on the cloud or USBs.

Encrypt company devices and software

Encrypting your company’s devices is one of the safest ways to protect your company from hacks. Encryption converts data into code which hides the data’s true meaning and ensures information doesn’t get into the wrong hands.

How can complying with GDPR help your business?

When you comply with GDPR rules, it’s not just your employees that benefit but your business too. These benefits include: