GDPR

At Access Point Consulting, we are a cybersecurity consultancy with a specialization in GDPR compliance. Our team possesses in-depth expertise in the regulations outlined by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). By ensuring full GDPR compliance within your organization, Access Point allows you to direct your focus towards your core initiatives. Moreover, your organization can benefit from a cost-effective solution, eliminating the need to maintain an in-house compliance team.

Our Approach

Because the enforcement of GDPR compliance comes from outside your company, this validation approach can enhance trust and credibility with customers, partners, and regulatory bodies, even as it demonstrates a responsible approach to safeguarding sensitive consumer information. Our approach follows three central tenets:

Transparency

Transparency is at the core of our approach to GDPR compliance at Access Point. We believe in reporting all findings, whether positive or negative, to ensure you have a clear understanding of your compliance status. By providing comprehensive and honest assessments, we empower your informed decision-making on GDPR compliance initiatives. We also provide metrics so that you can broadcast the effectiveness of your compliance program.

Leadership

The surge in regulatory demands across Europe has heightened the industry’s vulnerability to investigations, underscoring the criticality of a robust GDPR compliance program. Effective compliance leadership serves as a key resource to oversee and manage the intricacies of the GDPR compliance program on a daily basis. By providing guidance and implementing best practices, the strong compliance leadership we provide spares your organization from regulatory troubles while ensuring ongoing compliance with GDPR regulations.

Collaboration

We take a collaborative approach to guide your organization towards GDPR compliance, leveraging the collective expertise of various Access Point departments. By working synergistically, we ensure that your systems meet the necessary regulations and standards. Our Compliance team supports other internal departments by staying abreast of changes in regulations, industry standards, and emerging threats, keeping everyone informed and aligned. This allows us to capitalize on each other's strengths to deliver optimal outcomes to our clients.

Program Deliverables

Policy Development & Implementation

Policies are high-level statements of intention that set the expectations for meeting the organizational objectives (e.g. “We will encrypt data at rest, in use and in transit”). Access Point can assess current policies, identify any gaps, and assist with implementing and socializing the new policies to ensure they adhere to the proper regulations.

Awareness & Training

As technology continues to evolve so does the volume and variety of cyber threats and attacks. In addition, with more than 300 million people now working remotely, insider threats can cost companies an average of $7.5 million annually. Access Point can help organizations promote a cybersecurity awareness culture by implementing continuous training and educating staff, contractors, and third parties on the risk they could pose to the company through their daily activities.

Audit Readiness

Achieving audit readiness can be challenging due to the ever-changing landscape of complex cyber and privacy laws and regulatory requirements. Access Point will review your organization’s administrative, technical, and physical controls against security control frameworks to ensure they are compliant with relevant regulatory and legal statutes. Our team will provide clients with detailed reports outlining compliance status and will include recommended actions.

IT General Controls (ITGCs) Assessment

To support IT applications, it is important to have the appropriate controls in place to ensure that applications are working as intended. The areas of focus for ITGCs are Access Control, Change Management, DevOps, and Program Management. Access Point can perform an overall assessment of the management controls in the organization’s environment to determine if and where there are gaps. Our services ensure that systems, processes, and procedures are aligned with the current controls and operate effectively.

An Overview of GDPR

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a comprehensive data protection law that came into effect on May 25, 2018, in the European Union (EU). It was designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens' data privacy, and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy. GDPR has had a significant impact on businesses globally, as it applies not only to organizations located within the EU but also to organizations located outside of the EU if they offer goods or services to, or monitor the behavior of, EU data subjects.

GDPR sets out principles for data management and the rights of the individual, while also imposing fines that can be applied for non-compliance. Key requirements include obtaining consent from individuals before processing personal data, processing data in a lawful, fair, and transparent manner, ensuring data security, and providing individuals with rights to access, correct, delete, or transfer their data, among others.

The Privacy Rule establishes standards for the protection of individuals' medical records and other personal health information