Data protection officer responsibilities and role importance
November 16, 2020
The data protection officer is a relatively new role that received prominence in the wake of the European Union’s GDPR regulations on data privacy. Data protection officer responsibilities go beyond traditional IT, legal and security roles to provide a holistic view on data privacy, security, education and even opportunity across the organization.
“Now more than ever before, organizations are being forced to look at privacy as a strategic operating practice and even a competitive differentiator given the challenging data security environment,” said Pravin Kothari, founder and CEO of CipherCloud, a cloud security service. He sees this trend mirroring the rise of the CISO 10 years ago as enterprises grapple with changing privacy regimes in Europe, California and even Brazil.
Data protection officer responsibilities include a strategic aspect in helping to guide the organization through a process of continuous compliance by incorporating privacy safeguards and best practices into nearly every operation. This is becoming a strategic enabler as companies grapple with safely supporting increased remote work.
“Having a strategic view into privacy implications is not merely a necessity in maintaining compliance but something that can help you beat the competition to market,” Kothari said.