IT Governance, the leader in data protection and cyber security expertise, is urging organisations to comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as Brexit will not exempt UK-based organisations from being required to do so.
The statement comes in response to recent news that suggests the United Kingdom leaving the European Union may not take place until late 2019. As the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into force before this happens - in May 2018 - UK organisations will need to comply with the Regulation or face tough fines of up 4% of annual revenue.
Alan Calder, the founder and chief executive officer of IT Governance, said: “We advise UK organisations to not delay compliance under the mistaken belief that the GDPR will not apply once Brexit occurs.”
Moreover, regardless of whether Brexit happens before or after May 2018, one certainty is that data protection laws will not be affected, and organisations collecting and handling European residents’ data will still have to meet the requirements of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) before May 2018.
Alan Calder continued: “As Brexit presents a high level of uncertainty and is not expected take place until late 2019, organisations need to take into consideration the risks associated with non-compliance, such as tough fines and unrecoverable reputational damage, and achieve compliance with the GDPR before the Regulation comes into force in May 2018.”
To comply with the GDPR, organisations will need to make significant changes to policies, processes and contracts, and implement technical and organisational compliance measures. To help organisations achieve GDPR compliance, IT Governance has developed the
EU GDPR Documentation toolkit, which is designed to help meet the Regulation’s requirements.
Additionally, individuals looking to undertake the role of data protection officer (DPO) and the responsibility for achieving GDPR compliance can attend the one-day-
Certified General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Foundation training course or the four-day
Certified General Data Protection (GDPR) Practitioner training course.
For more information on IT Governance GDPR certified training courses and documentation toolkits, please visit our
website, email servicecentre@itgovernance.co.uk or call +44 (0)845 070 1750