The new EU-wide General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in May 2018.
It has been a nightmare for many companies operating in the EU, as the standards for data processing, protection and, above all, erasure have been raised compared with previous data protection guidelines. But EVS Translations was well-equipped to meet the stringent requirements of the GDPR with the help of its data protection officers.
Data protection involves teamwork
Teamwork is everything – our data protection officers and employees pull together and give data protection their all. Data protection officers enjoy a special position, as they act independently and report directly to management. The aim is to design and document all EVS Translations work processes in such a way that all data – both personal and general – is transmitted securely and processed confidentially.
Strict retention and erasure periods must be observed for data relating to customers, applicants and employees, and the duty to provide information to authorised persons must be fulfilled. To protect these rights, a confidentiality agreement was drawn up in collaboration with our human resources department. This agreement is signed by each employee upon joining the company, and explains their rights and obligations. A further safeguard is the maintenance of insider lists if a customer falls under the regulations of the Market Abuse Regulation.
IT security – the bedrock of digital data protection
Data protection officers receive valuable technical support for these processes from their IT colleagues. They ensure that security measures such as encrypted data transfer are monitored and access rights are assigned on a project-by-project basis, so that it is possible to track which EVS Translations employees are involved in which translation projects. Data protection regulation issues must also be clarified with external service providers and a data processing agreement must be concluded, for example when introducing a new applicant management system. After all, EVS Translations is responsible for the implementation of each applicant’s data protection rights.
EDITOR: Ms Stamoulaki, what are your thoughts looking back on one year of the new GDPR?
My conclusion is that the chaos failed to materialise and life is continuing as before. Both we and EVS Translations will have to face new challenges when the ePrivacy Regulation comes into effect across Europe. But we still have a little time until then.
Positive overall outcome with a slight aftertaste – the GDPR as a protective measure
We are pleased to note that people are no longer having nightmares about the supposedly oh-so-dry topic of data protection. This is a good thing, because in times of data scandals and manipulation power it will no longer be possible to imagine life without it!
Are you interested in the correlations and work processes of an international translation company? On our careers page you will find information about current job openings and the company in general.
Your EVS Translations HR team
*The responsibility for data protection lies with our internal legal department, which comprises a fully qualified lawyer.
