{"id":3107,"date":"2019-02-28T14:33:17","date_gmt":"2019-02-28T13:33:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.m-q.ch\/?p=3107"},"modified":"2019-03-06T09:47:11","modified_gmt":"2019-03-06T08:47:11","slug":"ceo-or-data-protection-officer-dpo-who-wins-the-power-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.m-q.ch\/en\/ceo-or-data-protection-officer-dpo-who-wins-the-power-game\/","title":{"rendered":"CEO or Data Protection Officer (DPO): Who will win the power game?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Beware of fallacies: security is not a project, it's a process. (Symbol image: Unsplash)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the meantime, the CEO and the Data Protection Officer (DPO) are counterparties. This is a given anyway due to the tightening of the data protection regulations DSGVO in May 2018. This requires the appointment of a Data Protection Officer for companies with at least ten employees. If this becomes mandatory, the relevance for a secure handling of data and information will increase.<\/p>\n

Although more than half of all companies have not yet filled a full-time position for data protection experts, the topic has finally arrived in the boardrooms. Nevertheless, there are still many uncertainties, also regarding a function in the company that has greatly gained relevance in the age of privacy.<\/p>\n

The Data Protection Officer monitors compliance with data protection regulations and is therefore responsible for the privacy of employees and customers. Because he or she is expected to monitor and challenge the work processes and culture, these employees assume a prominent and important function in the company.<\/p>\n

A new role\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

In the latest cyber security survey by the German Federal Office for Information Security, 70 percent of companies were victims of hacker attacks in 2016 and 2017. Many companies are sitting on a ticking time bomb. Many companies fall into the fallacy of relying on external data protection experts to examine their operations and processes for IT security or put their trust in costly cyber insurance policies. This conceals further risks.<\/p>\n

External providers could financially compensate for protective measures and losses, but they usually cannot bring back lost data. If the entire IT system of a company is affected, the restoration can cost several million euros, depending on the size of the company - not including the loss of competitive advantages and the costs of lost sales and image damage.<\/p>\n

Even a single stolen file hacked through customer data or passwords may do lasting damage.<\/p>\n

This is where the Data Protection Officer comes in and has to step on the toes of management.<\/p>\n

Checklist for DPO-to-be<\/strong><\/p>\n

The tasks of the Data Protection Officer include alerting the management to data protection breaches and insisting on extensive changes if necessary. Insecure cloud storage solutions or the company's own communication channels are \"sore points\" for companies that the data protection expert must keep a particularly close eye on.<\/p>\n

In general, when using software solutions, the DPO must be able to check the following features and answer questions:<\/p>\n