Data Protection Officer

Data Protection Officer for Hire

A designated DPO that works alongside your team at a fraction of the cost of hiring an internal DPO

Brands we work with

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Who Needs a DPO?

Any organization that collects, uses, discloses, or stores personal information from external sources, including customers and employees. Some examples include:

  • Government
  • Public bodies
  • NGOs/ IOs
  • Businesses that process data

Our DPO for Hire Service includes:

Audit

Audit

Conduct privacy gap assessment to examine your organization’s internal corporate network from the perspective of an insider or someone who has access to systems and networks.

Advice

Advice

Give advice and recommendations about the interpretation or application of the data protection policies

Liaise

Liaise

Act as a contact point and handle queries or complaints related to privacy

Train

Train

Provide tailored training on how to process personal data, maintain compliance and other data privacy activities

Achieve Compliance

Achieve Compliance

Ensure the privacy policies in place are up to date and compliant

Common Compliance Standards

Why Work With Kobalt.io

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Cost-Efficient

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Minimize Your Own Liability and Risks

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Maximize Productivity

Visibility

Accessing Industry Experts

Security

Satisfy Independent Requirements

Velocity

Faster to Appoint

One-year Road Map to Compliance

ASSESS & IMPLEMENT

Conduct gap analysis or privacy impact assessment (PIA) , data mapping on systems that handle personal information (PI) / personal identifiable information (PII), identify and establish program controls

PLAN & RESPOND

Gap analysis remediation, create privacy breach response protocol, act as primary internal contact for privacy-related queries

EDUCATE & UPDATE

Deliver tailored privacy education and training, work with legal counsel (as required) , Advocate privacy within the organization, provide updates on changes to privacy legislation

REPORT & RECOMMEND

Update gap assessment report with remediation and findings, act in an advisory capacity

ONGOING SERVICES

  • Represent the organization in the event of a complaint investigation by a privacy commissioner’s office
  • Respond to privacy breaches, advise the business on courses of action

Our Privacy Lead

Ritchie Po Privacy Lead Kobalt.io

Ritchie Po

Ritchie Po holds both Canadian (CIPP/C) and European (CIPP/E) privacy officer designations from the International Association of Privacy Professionals. Additionally, he is a lawyer called to the British Columbia bar, and often acts as a legislative consultant.

According to regulator recommendations, businesses should appoint a staff member to manage compliance. Your organizational structure will determine who should handle this, so consider who is in the best position to address privacy compliance requirements. 

A DPO is a person who is officially in charge of data compliance and protection within a company. The person in question can be a staff member of the company or an outside expert or consultant. With the introduction of new regulations under GDPR, many businesses—but not all—will be required to name a DPO.

Article 37 of the Regulation states that a DPO must be appointed if:

  • the relevant data processing activity is carried out by a public authority or body
  • the core activities of the business involve regular and systematic monitoring of individuals on a large scale; or
  • the core activities of the relevant business involve processing of sensitive personal data or data relating to criminal convictions, on a large scale.

If you conclude that your business needs a DPO to stay on the right side of the law, do you have to appoint someone externally? Not necessarily. A DPO can be an existing employee and for many businesses it will be possible to combine this formal role with other duties.

The DPO may be a dedicated full-time privacy officer, or the responsibilities may be assigned to your CIO, CTO, Human Resources, or legal counsel.

However, it is essential that the DPO possess a solid understanding of data protection law and best practices as the resident subject matter expert. Your DPO must also be able to communicate unimpededly with the highest level of management.

The person (or business) that determines which personal data is gathered and why, is known as the data controller. The individual (or business) that handles data processing on behalf of the data controller is known as the data processor. Processors are only permitted to process personal data in the presence of a signed contract that specifies the purposes and boundaries of the processing activity.

The “person” or entity that collects and retains personal data, or the “data controller,” is deemed to be a custodian and is therefore responsible for adhering to data protection laws. The definition of “person” is expansive and may be a human, an organization, or a business. To take a proactive approach to ensuring data protection compliance, you must designate a data protection officer and design a privacy management program. However, your company—not the data protection officer—will ultimately be responsible for any violations of data protection laws. As a result, you ought to select a data protection officer who is equipped with the knowledge and tools needed to carry out their duties.

Under the GDPR, you must hire a data protection officer (DPO) if you are a public organization, if your primary operations entail monitoring people, or if you process sensitive data or personal information about criminal convictions and offenses. The DPO’s responsibilities will include:

  • Training workers on compliance and data protection audits as well as their responsibilities
  • Monitoring compliance and ensuring there are data protection policies in place
  • Giving guidance on the GDPR’s mandated data protection impact assessments
  • Co-operating with the privacy regulator(s) and acting as its point of contact