Europrivacy Hybrid Certification: Your Ultimate GDPR Compliance Guide

Mastering Europrivacy Hybrid Certification for GDPR Compliance

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has always needed a unified certification model. Despite various certifications and standards for different business contexts, no single approach has become the industry standard. To tackle this certification fragmentation, GDPR governing bodies have introduced the new Europrivacy standard, featuring an innovative hybrid process.

Europrivacy and the Certification Journey

Europrivacy is the latest GDPR assessment and certification standard, set to make a significant impact in the industry. Currently, several bodies handle GDPR certification, including:

EuroPriSe: The main certification group under the GDPR Security Directive, conducting independent audits of IT processes and products, and awarding seals of approval valid for two years.
ISO 27001: A standard maintained by the International Organization for Standardization, focusing on IT security, security practices, and organizational risk management. Although not mandatory, it’s considered sufficient for GDPR compliance.
TRUSTe: An organization assisting US companies in achieving GDPR compliance for their business operations in the EU.

Europrivacy aims to streamline these certifications by serving as a centralized model for GDPR compliance, both within and outside the EU.

The Europrivacy Certification Process

According to Europrivacy’s overview, the certification process involves three main steps:

Document Preparation

Businesses review and prepare documentation to demonstrate GDPR compliance, following the Europrivacy Welcome Pack. They also seek qualified partners accredited under Article 43 of GDPR standards.

Certification

Organizations work with a certification body to demonstrate that their data processes comply with GDPR. Authorization for this assessor comes through the European Centre for Certification and Privacy (ECCP) and a competent national authority.

Maintenance

Organizations must maintain compliance year after year, staying updated on changes to Europrivacy standards and undergoing annual audits.

The Hybrid Europrivacy Certification Model

The ECCP provides a hybrid certification model that combines core GDPR criteria with local, contextual factors that organizations may need to meet.

GDPR Core Criteria

The core of the Europrivacy standard is its adherence to the GDPR core criteria, which include:

Lawfulness of Data Processing: Data processes must adhere to GDPR lawfulness requirements, including stating the purpose of data processing, transparency, and sticking to the stated purpose.
Special Data Processing: GDPR defines special forms of data requiring enhanced security, including race, ethnic origin, healthcare data, biometrics, genetic information, and other social categories.
Rights of the Data Subject: Organizations must demonstrate the ability to respond to data subjects’ rights, including information disclosure, data correction, and the right to be forgotten.
Data Controller Responsibility: Data controllers must ensure compliance in all regulated processes, making decisions about data collection and processing.
Data Processors and Subprocessors: Organizations storing or processing data must ensure all IT systems meet GDPR requirements.
Security of Processing and Data Protection by Design: All processes and IT systems must be designed with security and privacy from the ground up.
Management of Data Breaches: Organizations must have processes to track, mitigate, remediate, and report data breaches as defined by GDPR.
Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA): Organizations must create a DPIA to address risks around processing personal data and how to mitigate these risks.
Data Protection Officer (DPO): Regulated organizations must have a DPO to handle compliance and privacy controls, interfacing with compliance agencies and authorities.
Transfer of Personal Data: Organizations must have protections to prevent unauthorized transmission of protected data to international organizations or third countries.

Domain-Specific Criteria

Along with general GDPR requirements, Europrivacy includes domain-specific assessment criteria addressing specific demands related to industry, local laws, and specialized technologies. These criteria include:

Complementary Checks and Controls: Europrivacy includes any complementary controls necessary for domain- and technology-specific requirements, including local or practice-specific requirements under GDPR assessment.
Technical and Organizational Measures: Assessments around the adequacy of technical measures protecting data processing, with additional checks for high-risk data and baseline requirements substitutable with ISO/IEC 27001 certification.
Surveillance Audits Checklist: Checklists assess the ability of data processes to handle ongoing surveillance for continuous monitoring and compliance assurance.
National Obligations: Europrivacy incorporates local jurisdictions’ requirements and optional extensions.

For more information, refer to the official Europrivacy website.