GDPR Article 35 requires organisations to carry out a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) whenever their actions as a data processor have the potential to impact the rights and freedoms of individuals, as granted by their national governments.
Data protection impact assessment
- Where a type of processing in particular using new technologies, and taking into account the nature, scope, context and purposes of the processing, is likely to result in a high risk to the rights and freedoms of natural persons, the controller shall, prior to the processing, carry out an assessment of the impact of the envisaged processing operations on the protection of personal data. A single assessment may address a set of similar processing operations that present similar high risks.
- The controller shall seek the advice of the data protection officer, where designated, when carrying out a data protection impact assessment.
- A data protection impact assessment referred to in paragraph 1 shall in particular be required in the case of:
- (a) a systematic and extensive evaluation of personal aspects relating to natural persons which is based on automated processing, including profiling, and on which decisions are based that produce legal effects concerning the natural person or similarly significantly affect the natural person.
- (b) processing on a large scale of special categories of data referred to in Article 9(1), or of personal data relating to criminal convictions and offences referred to in Article 10; or
- (c) a systematic monitoring of a publicly accessible area on a large scale.
- The Commissioner shall establish and make public a list of the kind of processing operations which are subject to the requirement for a data protection impact assessment pursuant to paragraph 1. The supervisory authority shall communicate those lists to the Board referred to in Article 68.
- The Commissioner may also establish and make public a list of the kind of processing operations for which no data protection impact assessment is required. The supervisory authority shall communicate those lists to the Board.
- The assessment shall contain at least:
- (a) a systematic description of the envisaged processing operations and the purposes of the processing, including, where applicable, the legitimate interest pursued by the controller.
- (b) an assessment of the necessity and proportionality of the processing operations in relation to the purposes.
- (c) an assessment of the risks to the rights and freedoms of data subjects referred to in paragraph 1; and
- (d) the measures envisaged to address the risks, including safeguards, security measures and mechanisms to ensure the protection of personal data and to demonstrate compliance with this Regulation taking into account the rights and legitimate interests of data subjects and other persons concerned.
- Compliance with approved codes of conduct referred to in Article 40 by the relevant controllers or processors shall be taken into due account in assessing the impact of the processing operations performed by such controllers or processors, in particular for the purposes of a data protection impact assessment.
- Where appropriate, the controller shall seek the views of data subjects or their representatives on the intended processing, without prejudice to the protection of commercial or public interests or the security of processing operations.
- In the case of processing pursuant to point (c) or (e) of Article 6(1), paragraphs 1 to 7 of this Article do not apply if a data protection impact assessment has already been carried out for the processing as part of a general impact assessment required by domestic law, unless domestic law provides otherwise.
- Where necessary, the controller shall carry out a review to assess if processing is performed in accordance with the data protection impact assessment at least when there is a change of the risk represented by processing operations.
UK GDPR is largely similar to the EU GDPR excerpt, with no noticeable differences.
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When considering the planning and implementation of a DPIA, organisations need to consider 11 key areas:
PII and privacy protection has the potential to impact a large number of employees, users, customers, both internally and externally.
Organisations need to gain a firm understanding of the needs of any affected personnel and what ISO deems as ‘interested parties’.
Organisation’s need to establish and document:
Organisations should also take into account any legal, regulatory or contractual obligations, alongside practical and operational requirements.
When implementing a PIMS, organisations need to map out a list of interested parties that are either affected by a PIMS, or have a role to play in processing PII.
Where PII is concerned, an interested party could be one of the following (but not limited to):
It’s important to note that PII requirements – as related to a PIMS – often emanate from a wide range of sources, including:
It can often be difficult for governing and regulatory organisations to confirm adherence to published privacy protection standards on the part of an organisation, in its role as a PII processor and controller.
As such, organisations need to expect such bodies to call for independent reviews of any relevant Management System, in order to satisfy their own auditing requirements.
In this section we talk about GDPR Articles 35 (1), 35 (10), 35 (11), 35 (2), 35 (3)(a), 35 (3)(b), 35 (3)(c), 35 (4), 35 (5), 35 (7)(a), 35 (7)(b), 35 (7)(c), 35 (7)(d), 35 (8) and 35 (9)
Privacy impact assessments allow organisations to gauge any information security implications when processing a new set of PII, or changing the way existing data is processed.
PII processing is a risk-heavy business function that needs to be thoroughly assessed to ensure the integrity, authenticity and legality of the data being processed.
Depending on the jurisdiction, some organisations will need to abide by a categorical list of scenarios where a privacy impact assessment is required, such as:
Organisations need to establish what constitutes an adequate impact assessment, including (but not limited to):
Contracts should include:
| GDPR Article | ISO 27701 Clause | ISO 27701 Supporting Clauses |
|---|---|---|
| EU GDPR Article 35 (9) | ISO 27701 5.2.2 | None |
| EU GDPR Articles 35 (1) to 35 (9) | ISO 27701 7.2.5 | None |
| EU GDPR Article 35 (1) | ISO 27701 8.2.1 | ISO 27701 7.4 ISO 27701 8.4 |
A violation of GDPR can result in significant fines, making it one of the toughest privacy and security regulations in the world. Therefore, organisations must protect personal data to a ‘reasonable’ extent.
But here’s the good news.
Using ISMS.online, you can jump straight into GDPR compliance and demonstrate a level of protection that reaches beyond ‘reasonable’. We make data mapping easy. Easily record and review your organisation’s processing activity by adding your details to our preconfigured dynamic Records of Processing Activity tool.
With our tools, you can plan, communicate, document, and learn from every breach.
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