Data Protection Bristol

Compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 will vary depending on the class of data, so it is worth auditing all your business's data systems to ensure the correct security procedures are in place.

Although an internet user might be happy to provide personal information online to a company, it is still that company's duty to protect the user under Principle 3 of the Data Protection Act 1998. This states that data can only be obtained for specific and lawful purposes.

The data protection controller is responsible for determining the purposes for which your business processes personal data. Once appointed, he or she will be primarily responsible for the business's data protection compliance.

On request, the data subject must be supplied with a description of their personal data being held, the reasons why and a record of and reasons for any disclosures to a third party.

How can I protect my business?

A number of businesses use encryption to restrict access to information about the company itself. Messages are electronically transmitted and can only be de-coded with a personal "key".

To overcome the confidentiality issue, some are also turning to Privacy Enhanced Technologies (PETS), software packages which allow the user to assume a pseudo-identity and carry out a transaction electronically with the option of remaining anonymous.