Over the last few weeks it will have been impossible not to notice the large number of GDPR and Privacy related emails bombarding your inbox from almost every company you have ever had any contact with. This is because on the 25th of May 2018 the General Data Protection Regulation becomes legally enforced and will affect all companies that process the data of residents within the EU.
The consequences for data breaches under the GDPR are severe. Businesses can face fines of up to €20 million or 4% of their annual global revenue, whichever is greater. Needless to say, no business can afford to put the data of their customers at risk.
According to Article 32 of the GDPR, a business is not required to report a data breach to the effected individuals if they can demonstrate they have "implemented appropriate technological protection measures, and that those measures were applied to the data concerned by the personal data breach." In a nutshell, this means that if lost or stolen data is encrypted, you may not have to report the breach to those customers affected, and may therefore avoid potential administrative costs and reputation damage.
All Integral hardware encrypted USB Flash Drives are products that will help to make a business GDPR compliant. Integral hardware encrypted USBs are independently validated by NIST to meet FIPS 140-2 or FIPS 197 (depending on model). This means that Integral hardware encrypted memory solutions are accepted as the "appropriate technological protection measures" mentioned in article 32 of the GDPR.
So what about software encryption?
Software encrypted USB flash drives are a fantastic way to protect your own personal data, but we cannot recommend them for use by businesses seeking GDPR compliance. This is because it is not possible to prevent the user from removing the software encryption from this type of USB drive. The return transport of data to your network is left in the hands of your users. If they have misunderstood the instructions you will be left non-compliant and vulnerable. This means you are exposed and that your budget has been spent on a false promise.
This looming age of GDPR might seem intimidating, but it is for the benefit of your customers. Integral Hardware Encrypted solutions are equipped with rock-solid security features and can form an important tool in your GDPR compliance program.
For more information about Integral hardware encrypted SSDs click here.
For more information about Integral hardware encrypted USB flash drives click here.