Introduction
Author Arizona Tape needs to gather and use certain information about individuals. This includes customers, suppliers, business contacts, employees and other people Author Arizona Tape has relationships with or may need to contact.
This policy describes how this personal data must be collected, handled and stored to meet Author Arizona Tape’s data protection standards and to comply with the law.
Why this policy exists
This data protection policy ensures Author Arizona Tape:
– Complies with data protection law and follows good practice
– Protects the rights of staff, customers and partners
– Is open about how it stores and processes individuals’ data
– Protects itself from the risks of a data breach
Data Protection Law
The Data Protection Act (entering into law 25th May 2018) describes how organisations – including Author Arizona Tape – must collect, handle and store personal information.
These rules apply regardless of whether data is stored electronically, on paper or on other materials.
To comply with the law, personal information must be collected and used fairly,. Stored safely and not disclosed unlawfully.
The Data Protection Act is underpinned by the following principles. These say that personal data must:
– Be processed fairly and lawfully
– Be obtained only for specific, lawful purposes
– Be adequate, relevant and not excessive
– Be accurate and kept up to date
– Not be held for any longer than necessary
– Processed in accordance with the rights of data subjects
– Be protected in appropriate ways
– Not be transferred outside the European Economic Area (EEA), unless that country or territory also ensures an adequate level of protection
People, risks and responsibilities
Policy Scope
This policy applies to:
– The head office of Author Arizona Tape
– All branches of AuthorArizona Tape
– All staff and volunteers of Arizona Tape
– All contractors, suppliers and other people working on behalf ofArizona Tape.
It applies to all data the company holds relating to identifiable individuals. This can include:
– Names of individuals
– Postal addresses
– Email addresses
– Telephone numbers
– Cookie tracking data
Data Protection Risks
This policy helps protect Arizona Tape from data security risks, including:
– Breaches of confidentiality (e.g. information being given out inappropriately
– Failing to offer choice (e.g. all individuals should be free to choose how the company uses data relating to them)
– Reputational damage (e.g. the company could suffer if hackers successfully gained access to sensitive data.)
Responsibilities
Everyone who works for or withArizona Tape has responsibility for ensuring data is collected, stored and handled appropriately.
Each team that handles personal data must ensure that it is handled and processed in line with this policy and data protection principles.
General Staff Guidelines
– The only people able to access data covered by this policy should be those who need it for their work
– Data should not be shared informally. When access to confidential information is required, employees can request it from their line managers.
– Arizona Tape will provide training to all employees to help them understand their responsibilities when handling data
– All data must be kept secure, by taking sensible precautions and following the guidelines below.
– In particular, strong passwords must be used and they should never be shared.
– Personal data should not be disclosed to unauthorised people, either within the company or externally
– Data should be regularly reviewed and updated if it is found to be out of date. If no longer required, it should be deleted and disposed of.
– Employees should request help from their line manager or data protection officer if they are unsure about any aspect of data protection.
Data Storage
These rules describe how and where data should be safely stored. Questions about storing data safely can be directed to the IT manager or data controller.
When data is stored on paper, it should be kept in a secure place where unauthorised people cannot see it.
These guidelines also apply to data that is usually stored electronically but has been printed out for some reason:
– When not required, the paper or files should be kept in a locked drawer or filing cabinet.
– Employees should make sure paper and printouts are not left where unauthorised people could see them
– Data printouts should be shredded and disposed of securely when no longer required
When data is stored electronically, it must be protected from unauthorised access, accidental deletion and malicious hacking attempts:
– Data should be protected by strong passwords that are changed regularly and never shared between employees.
– If data is stored on removable media (like a CD or DVD), these should be kept locked away securely when not being used.
– Data should only be stored on designated drives and servers and should only be uploaded to an approved cloud computing service.
– Servers containing personal data should be sited in a secure location, away from general office space.
– Data should be backed up frequently. Those backups should be tested regularly, in line with the company’s standard backup procedures.
– Data should never be saved directly to laptops or other mobile devices like tablets or smart phones
– All servers and computers containing data should be protected by approved security software and a firewall.
Data Use
Personal data is of no value toArizona Tape unless the business can make use of it., However, it is when personal data is accessed and used that it can be at the greatest risk of loss, corruption or theft:
– When working with personal data, employees should ensure the screens of their computers are always locked when left unattended.
– Personal data should not be shared informally. In particular, it should never be sent by email, as this form of communication is not secure.
– Data must be encrypted before being transferred electronically. The IT manager can explain how to send data to authorised external contacts.
– Personal data should never be transferred outside of the European Economic Area
– Employees should not save copies of personal data to their own computers. Always access and update the central copy of any data.
Data Accuracy
The law requiresArizona Tape to take reasonable steps to ensure data is kept accurate and up to date.
The more important it is that the personal data is accurate, the greater the effort Arizona Tape should put into ensuring its accuracy.
It is the responsibility of all employees who work with data to take reasonable steps to ensure it is kept as accurate and up to date as possible.
– Dara will be held in as few places as necessary. Staff should not create any unnecessary additional data sets.
– Staff should take every opportunity to ensure data is updated. For instance, by confirming a customer’s details when they call.
– Author Arizona Tape will make it easy for data subjects to update the information they hold about them. For instance, via the company website.
– Data should be updated as inaccuracies are discovered. For instance, if a customer can no longer be reached on their stored telephone number, it should be removed from the database.
– It is the marketing manager’s responsibility to ensure marketing databases are checked against industry suppression files every six months.
Subject Access Requests
All individuals who are the subject of personal data held byArizona Tape are entitled to:
– Ask what information the company holds about them and why.
– Ask how to gain access to it
– Be informed how to keep it up to date
– Be informed how the company is meeting the data protection obligations
If an individual contacts the company requesting this information, this is called a subject access request.
Subject access requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the data controller at arizonatape@gmail.com . The data controller can supply a standard request form, although individuals do not have to use this.
The data controller will aim to provide the relevant data within 14 days. The data controller will always verify the identity of anyone making a subject access request before handing over the information.
The right to be forgotten
All individuals who are the subject of personal data held by Arizona Tape are entitled to enact the right to be forgotten, upon which all personal data will be removed from Arizona Tapes databases.
The right to be forgotten requests from individuals should be made by email, addressed to the data controller at arizonatape@gmail.com .
The data controller will always verify the identity of anyone invoking the right to be forgotten.
Disclosing data for other reasons
In certain circumstances, the Data Protection Act allows personal data to be disclosed to law enforcement agencies without the consent of the data subject.
Under these circumstances, Arizona Tape will disclose requested data. However, the data controller will ensure the request is legitimate, seeking assistance from the board and from the company’s legal advisors where necessary.
Providing Information
Arizona Tape aims to ensure that individuals are aware that their data is being processed, and that they understand:
– How the data is being used
– How to exercise their rights
To these ends, the company has a privacy statement, setting out how data relating to individuals is used by the company.
Arizona Tape also uses the following sites & tools, and for reference, has linked their privacy policies: