Zinopy seminar helps businesses prepare for the EU General Data Protection Regulation

Information security experts Zinopy yesterday held a seminar aimed at helping businesses understand and prepare for the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which will come into effect on 25 May 2018. The seminar, which was attended by over 50 IT professionals from across industry sectors, took place in The Dean Hotel in Dublin.

The exciting panel of data protection specialists at the event included expert speakers from Deloitte, Ronan Daly Jermyn and Information Security Assurance Services and leading technology vendors IBM and Citrix. The speakers provided the audience with essential insights into the main provisions of the Regulation, practical guidance to help start preparing for the EU GDPR and outlined what organisations can do on the ground to improve data governance, reduce the risk of data loss and lower compliance costs.

Jacky Fox, Cyber & IT Forensic Lead at Deloitte Ireland, with Finín O’Brien, a solicitor in the Data Protection Team at Ronan Daly Jermyn, John Ryan, Zinopy’s CEO, and Conor Flynn, Managing Director of Information Security Assurance Services.

“There is no doubt that the new GDPR will have an impact on technology and applications”, commented Jacky Fox, Cyber & IT Forensic Lead at Deloitte Ireland and opening speaker at the seminar. “Applications may need to be adapted to address some of the new or more stringent requirements around areas such as consent and data retention. Organisations need to understand what is required and what the potential impacts of GDPR are for them so that they can put a plan in place to address the issues.”

The new legislation is set to bring major changes to data security, particularly as regards to appointing data protection officers, carrying out risk assessments, implementing data protection by design, ensuring appropriate systems to minimise risk, notifying authorities within 72 hours of a breach and understanding where personal data resides and how it can be protected accordingly.

Finín O’Brien, a solicitor in the Data Protection Team at Ronan Daly Jermyn, outlined in his presentation the new obligations and responsibilities for Irish businesses and the legal ramifications for non-compliance as well as the increased sanctions (administrative fines) that businesses may face if they fail to comply with the new legislation, with potential fines for non-compliance of up to 4% of annual worldwide turnover or €20M, whichever is higher.

Conor Flynn, Managing Director of Information Security Assurance Services, covered the technical implications of the change from the current Data Protection Act(s) to the GDPR. ‘Many organisations are probably not aware of the changes and the impacts that these changes will have in how they run their businesses and how they interact with their suppliers of services’ commented Flynn.

“The new rules of the legislation will affect a variety of industry sectors where large quantities of personal data are processed, including financial services, government, retail, digital media and technology, pharmaceutical and health care, to name only a few.’”concluded John Ryan, Zinopy’s CEO. “It is paramount that businesses are aware and in control of the data they own and put a compliance program in place to address the requirements of the new GDPR. Zinopy partners with leading technology manufacturers such as IBM, Symantec, Citrix and Boldon James which provide solutions designed to effectively meet those requirements.”