Simon Blanchard, Author at Data Protection Network

Simon Blanchard, a Partner with DPN Associates has in-depth data protection experience. He has a keen interest helping organisations apply good governance and held the role of Director of Information Governance at Royal Mail Group. Simon has considerable commercial experience having held the role of Head of Data & Online Marketing at Bauer Media until 2014.

simon@dpnetwork.org.uk

Connect on LinkedIn

ICO fine for Police Service of Northern Ireland

Lessons to learn from the PSNI data breach involving a simple spreadsheet error which exposed the details of the entire workforce

Cookie reprimand and more ICO investigations

As the UK regulatory targets non-compliant websites, five key steps get your cookies and similar technologies in order.

Meeting prospective clients’ due diligence demands

How businesses providing a service to clients can prepare for due diligence questions and supplier set up requirements

Google abandons plans to phase out third-party cookies

What does the survival of third party cookies mean for advertisers and the online privacy of consumers? What next?

Monitoring employees and data protection

How to make sure any employee monitoring is fair, proportionate, transparent and in line with data protection law

Tackling AI and data protection

How do data protection teams need to respond to the rapid advances in the use of AI. What are the key considerations?

Access controls: Protecting your systems and data

Data access controls are vital to make sure systems and data are properly protected. Are your controls robust enough?

Managing data deletion, destruction and anonymisation

How to effectively meet legal data retention requirements to not to keep personal data longer than necessary

Guide to identifying and managing data protection risks

Data protection risks come in all shapes and sizes. How to spot these risks and manage them in an effective and efficient way

The three foundations of good data governance

Why creating a clear data governance strategy is crucial, the organisational benefits it can reap and how to approach it

Data Protection Impact Assessments for Agile projects

How to manage data protection risks on multi-phased dynamic projects. Tips on embedding data protection by design and an 'agile' DPIA process

Managing how employees use their own devices for work

Many organisations allow employees or contractors to use their own devices for work purposes. How should BYOD security risks be addressed?

Call for ban on use of live facial recognition

As campaigners call for a ban is live facial recognition a force for good or a dangerous intrusion on people’s privacy?

Data Protection Policies – what do businesses need?

How well-crafted, easy to read data protection policies help to make sure your staff know how do the right thing with personal data

What types of data protection risk are there?

Data protection risks come in all shapes and sizes. They are not always easy to identify. How do we know what to look for and how serious they could it be?

Why is data mapping so crucial?

How to approach locating data across your business and keeping records - such as a Record of Processing Activities (RoPA)

EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework – how long will it last?

What does the EU-US Data Privacy Framework mean for international data transfers and will it be challenged?

Ransomware attacks continue to plague businesses

How damaging could a ransomware attack be? Is the business prepared? Are preventative measures up to scratch? Should we pay the ransom or not?

Takeaways from Meta’s huge fine

What's the fallout from the Irish Regulator's ruling against Meta on the 'right' lawful basis for digital advertising?

Data Protection Basics: The 7 data protection principles

What are the main principles of data protection? Understanding and applying these are are the heart of good practice.

Is your data use compatible with what you collected it for?

Is your data use compatible with what you collected it for?

Are we conducting too many DPIAs – or not enough?

DPIA screening process - making sure we conduct Data Protection Impact Assessments when we need to but don't conduct unnecessary assessments

Body worn cameras and privacy implications

Using bodycams can be useful, but the privacy implications shouldn't be overlooked. Is your use reasonable and proportionate?

Privacy enhancing technologies and how they can help

Heard the term PETs? What are privacy enhancing technologies and how can we use them to protect data better?

Dark patterns: is your website tricking people?

Do you ever feel like a website has been designed to trick you into doing things you don’t want to do? Welcome to the murky world of ‘dark patterns’

Making your RoPA work for your business

How to sell the organisational benefits of creating and maintaining an up-to-date record of your processing activities...

Consumers increasingly comfortable sharing data

Latest research shows trust and transparency remain fundamental when businesses want consumers to share their personal data

How to get buy-in for DPIAs

DPIAs often get a bad rap. Privacy people often say their teams don’t understand and don’t like them. So how can you get your teams to engage?

How to focus data protection training on specific teams

The message is being heard by organisations that GDPR training is crucial, but how do you make sure you provide quality, depth and relevance?

Overcoming the challenges of data retention

How do we manage the challenges of the over-retention of personal data? Get some tips on how best to tackle data retention.

Data Protection Officers – what does it take to do the job?

GDPR lead to spike DPO jobs. But what does it take to be an effective DPO? What blend of traits make someone good at the role?

How did a trade union fall foul of the marketing rules?

As a trade union is fined £45k for violating direct marketing rules, we look at what they did wrong and what lessons we can learn...

Record of Processing Activities: Pros and Cons

Mandatory requirements to keep GDPR-level record of processing could be removed. So what are the benefits and downsides of a ROPA?

Getting to grips with Accountability

Accountability is a key principle underpinning GDPR, but where do you start and how do you keep up the momentum?

Social media targeting: consent or legitimate interests?

Targeted advertising via various social media platforms is widely used. But are we being open and upfront about it?

Data breaches – is your business prepared?

Data breaches can affect anyone - the stats are concerning and we've all seen the headlines. Why being prepared is crucial...

How is your privacy programme performing?

How to track your business’s privacy performance and make sure data is being successfully managed across the business.

Should DPOs take responsibility for risk?

Allocating responsibility for your privacy risks - Is it right for data protection risks to sit with your Data Protection Officer?

British Airways data breach – what can we learn?

British Airways has been fined £20m by the ICO, what lessons can we all learn from BA's painful personal data breach?

Data Protection by Design: Part 2 – How to approach it

How to implement Data Protection by Design when you are developing new applications, products and services.

Use of automated facial recognition by South Wales Police ruled ‘unlawful’

South Wales Police's use of automated facial recognition has been ruled unlawrul - it breaches human rights and has potential for bias.

Dashcams and GDPR: Assessing the privacy implications

7 point privacy guide for use of dashcams in vehicles. Quick steps to make sure your use of dashcams is transparent and lawful.

RoPA – Five tips for keeping your Records of Processing Activity up to date

5 tips for keeping your GDPR records of processing activities up to date. The why, who, what, how and when of data protection documentation.

Getting your Supplier Contracts Right

Getting your Supplier Contracts Right A Guide to Controller-Processor contracts The GDPR sets out strict requirements for when an organisation decides to utilise the services of another company to process personal data. The most important aspect to establish first is whether you are both acting as controllers of the personal data being processed or whether […]