Skip to main content Skip to search

Compliance

Compliance

 

GDPR compliance statement

Introduction

The EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) comes into force across the European Union on 25th May 2018 and brings with it the most significant changes to data protection law in two decades. Based on privacy by design and taking a risk-based approach, the GDPR has been designed to meet the requirements of the digital age.
The 21st Century brings with it broader use of technology, new definitions of what constitutes personal data, and a vast increase in cross-border processing. The new Regulation aims to standardize data protection laws and processing across the EU; affording individuals stronger, more consistent rights to access and control their personal information.

Our Commitment

MIND is committed to ensuring the security and protection of the personal information that we process, and to provide a compliant and consistent approach to data protection. We have always had a robust and effective data protection program in place which complies with the existing law and abides by the data protection principles. However, we recognize our obligations in updating and expanding this program to meet the demands of the GDPR and the related relevant European national legislation.
MIND is dedicated to safeguarding the personal information under our remit and in developing a data protection regime that is effective, fit for purpose and demonstrates an understanding of, and appreciation for the new regulation. Our preparation and objectives for GDPR compliance have been summarized in this statement and include the development and implementation of the new data protection roles, policies, procedures, controls and measures to ensure maximum and ongoing compliance.

How are we preparing for the GDPR?

MIND already has a consistent level of data protection and security across our organization, however it is our aim to be fully compliant with the EU GDPR. Our preparations include:

  • Information security audit – carrying out a company-wide information audit to identify and assess what personal information we hold, where it comes from, how and why it is processed and if and to whom it is disclosed.
  • Policies & Procedures – implementing new data protection policies and procedures to meet the requirements and standards of the GDPR and any relevant data protection laws including:
    • Data protection – our main policy document for data protection has been overhauled to meet the standards and requirements of the GDPR. Accountability and governance measures are in place to ensure that we understand and adequately disseminate and evidence our obligations and responsibilities; with a dedicated focus on privacy by design and the rights of individuals.
    • Data retention & Erasure – we have updated our retention policy and schedule to ensure that we meet the ‘data minimization’ and ‘storage limitation’ principles and that personal information is stored, archived and destroyed compliantly and ethically. We have dedicated erasure procedures in place to meet the new ‘Right to Erasure’ obligation and are aware of when this and other data subject’s rights apply; along with any exemptions, response timeframes and notification responsibilities.
    • Data breaches – our breach procedures ensure that we have safeguards and measures in place to identify, assess, investigate and report any personal data breach at the earliest possible time. Our procedures are robust and have been disseminated to all employees, making them aware of the reporting lines and steps to follow.
    • International Data Transfers & 3rd Party Disclosures – where MIND stores or transfers personal information outside the EU, we have robust procedures and safeguarding measures in place to secure, encrypt and maintain the integrity of the data. Our procedures include a continual review of the countries with sufficient adequacy decisions, as well as provisions for binding corporate rules; standard data protection clauses or approved codes of conduct for those countries without. We carry out strict due diligence checks with all recipients of personal data to assess and verify that they have appropriate safeguards in place to protect the information, ensure enforceable data subject rights and have effective legal remedies for data subjects where applicable.
    • Subject Access Request – we have designed our Subject Access Request procedure to accommodate the revised 30-day timeframe for providing the requested information and for making this provision free of charge. Our new procedures detail how to verify the data subject, what steps to take for processing an access request, what exemptions apply and a suite of response templates to ensure that communications with data subjects are compliant, consistent and adequate.
  • Legal Basis for Processing – we are reviewing all processing activities to identify the legal basis for processing and ensuring that each basis is appropriate for the activity it relates to. Where applicable, we also maintain records of our processing activities, ensuring that our obligations under Article 30 of the GDPR are met.
  • Privacy Policy – we have revised our Data Privacy policy to comply with the EU GDPR, ensuring that all the individuals whose personal information we process have been informed of why we need it, how it is used, what their rights are, who the information is disclosed to and what safeguarding measures are in place to protect their information.
  • Obtaining Consent – we have revised our consent mechanism for obtaining personal data, ensuring that individuals understand what they are providing, why and how we use it and giving clear, defined ways to consent to us processing their information. We have developed stringent processes for recording consent, making sure that we can evidence an affirmative opt-in, along with time and date records; and an easy to see and access way to withdraw consent at any time.
  • Direct Marketing / Cookies Policy – we have revised the wording and processes for direct marketing, including clear opt-in mechanisms for marketing subscriptions; a clear notice and method for opting out and providing unsubscribe features on all subsequent marketing materials.
  • Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIA) – where we process personal information that is considered high risk, involves large scale processing or includes special category/criminal conviction data; we have developed stringent procedures and assessment templates for carrying out impact assessments that comply fully with the GDPR’s Article 35 requirements. We have implemented documentation processes that record each assessment, allow us to rate the risk posed by the processing activity and implement mitigating measures to reduce the risk posed to the data subject(s).
  • Processor Agreements – where we use any third-party to process personal information on our behalf, we have designed specific compliant Processor requirements in our Binding Corporate Rules. These measures include initial and ongoing reviews of the service provided, the necessity of the processing activity, the technical and organizational measures in place and compliance with the GDPR.
  • Special Categories Data – where we obtain and process any special category information, we do so in complete compliance with the Article 9 requirements and have high-level encryptions and protections on all such data. Special category data is only processed where necessary and is only processed where we have first identified the appropriate Article 9(2) basis condition. Where we rely on consent for processing, this is explicit and is verified by a signature, with the right to modify or remove consent being clearly signposted.

 

Information Security & Technical and Organizational Measures

ISO Certification

MIND takes the privacy and security of individuals and their personal information very seriously and takes every reasonable measure and precaution to protect and secure the personal data that we process. We have robust information security policies and procedures in place to protect personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure or destruction and have several layers of security measures, including: SSL, access controls, password policy, encryptions, anonymization practices, restriction practices, IT – Information Security policy, authentication etc. These measures are detailed in the Binding Corporate Rules as well as in the MIND’s Information Security Policy. In addition, MIND has designed and certified its integrated management system with Quality management requirements according to the ISO 9001:2015 and the Information Security management according to the ISO 27001:2013 information security requirements. MIND has updated its internal processes and documentation to ensure its compliance with the EU GDPR regulation and, our employees have been informed and trained on this critical subject.

TM Forum

MIND is a member of the TM Forum and works along the standards set forth by this organization. MIND has undergone a Conformance Assessment of its product and has received the Frameworx 15.0 Certified Product Conformance Mark in 2016.

 

Privacy by Design

Where MIND intends to develop new products, modules or major product releases, GDPR data protection requirements are taken into account as of the beginning of the project. Whenever a new development project is launched, MIND will perform a Privacy Risk Assessment with the support and direction of the Data Protection Officer, to identify the measures required for GDPR compliancy.
Where the existing functionality in deployed releases of MIND’s products do not satisfy the EU GDPR requirements, MIND will promptly retrofit, customize, deploy and/or deliver the required functionality to supported product releases, as usual, by following a specific customer request and, the already applied MIND’s Change Requests (CR) process.

Data Privacy in MIND CRM System

MIND provides Support and Maintenance services for product releases that are in production on customer’s sites. Customer service requests that are recorded in MIND’s CRM system (MINDServe) by the customer’s representatives, may include private information of the customers’ clients. MIND strongly recommends that customers’ representatives do not attach such data to their service request in MINDServe or, to attach it only if it was first anonymized.
The customer is responsible to ensure that any data attached to the service request in MIND CRM is compliant with the EU GDPR rules and regulations. MIND will work under the contractual clauses or directives of the customer/customers’ representative.

Any personal data recorded in MIND CRM system will be processed according to the following principles of good practice:

  • The Processing is Fair and lawful;
  • The purpose of the processing is determined, explicit and legitimate;
  • The Personal Data processed is relevant and not excessive;
  • The appropriate security measures are implemented according to MIND’s Information Security Policy;
  • The data is kept accurate and up to date, and where data is inaccurate or incomplete, data is rectified, supplemented or erased;
  • The data is processed in accordance with the data subject’s rights;
  • The data is not kept longer than necessary for the purpose of which it is processed.

MIND provides support with any data privacy related questions, comments, concerns or complaints or in case an applicant, employee or business partner contact wishes to exercise any of its data privacy related rights as mentioned in the EU GDPR. Any complaint, as well as any request for clarification, related to the data privacy under the EU GDPR regulation can be raised by e-mail at privacy@mindcti.com, by mail or directly to our offices, mentioning that it is in attention to our Data Protection Officer.

MINDCTI