Everything you wanted to know about encryption and GDPR but were afraid to ask
17/08/2020
This UK ICO guidance will help you to understand the importance of encryption as an appropriate technical measure to protect the personal data you hold.
Whether you are a controller or a processor, encryption is a technique that you can use to protect personal data.
The guidance
- outlines the concept of encryption in the context of the GDPR’s integrity and confidentiality principle, and particularly Article 32 on security processing.
- provides a summary of current forms of encryption and the considerations you should have when putting it in place, along with outlining the residual risks.
- provides a number of scenarios where personal data is processed, outlining how encryption can be used to safeguard such data in respect of each scenario, and detailing some of the risks that remain.
- includes several recommendations, namely that where you are storing or transmitting personal data, you should use encryption due to its widespread availability and relatively low cost of deployment.
For an introduction to the key themes and provisions of the GDPR, you should refer back to the Guide to the GDPR. You can navigate back to the Guide at any time using the link at the top of this page. Links to other relevant guidance and sources of further information are also provided throughout.
When downloading this guidance, the corresponding content from the Guide to the GDPR will also be included as a cover page so you will have all the relevant information on this topic.
These pages sit alongside the ICO Guide to the GDPR https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/ and provide more detailed guidance for UK organisations on encryption under the GDPR.
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As well as owning and publishing Comsure's copyrighted works, Comsure wishes to use the copyright-protected works of others. To do so, Comsure is applying for exemptions in the UK copyright law. There are certain very specific situations where Comsure is permitted to do so without seeking permission from the owner. These exemptions are in the copyright sections of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 (as amended)[www.gov.UK/government/publications/copyright-acts-and-related-laws]. Many situations allow for Comsure to apply for exemptions. These include 1] Non-commercial research and private study, 2] Criticism, review and reporting of current events, 3] the copying of works in any medium as long as the use is to illustrate a point. 4] no posting is for commercial purposes [payment]. (for a full list of exemptions, please read here www.gov.uk/guidance/exceptions-to-copyright]. Concerning the exceptions, Comsure will acknowledge the work of the source author by providing a link to the source material. Comsure claims no ownership of non-Comsure content. The non-Comsure articles posted on the Comsure website are deemed important, relevant, and newsworthy to a Comsure audience (e.g. regulated financial services and professional firms [DNFSBs]). Comsure does not wish to take any credit for the publication, and the publication can be read in full in its original form if you click the articles link that always accompanies the news item. Also, Comsure does not seek any payment for highlighting these important articles. If you want any article removed, Comsure will automatically do so on a reasonable request if you email info@comsuregroup.com.