The Challenge

With the introduction of GDPR came a duty for public authorities or organisations which carry out certain types of processing activities to appoint a data protection officer (DPO). The DPO must have a certain level of independence from the organisation’s purpose for data collection – the role can be inhouse or outsourced. They must also be an expert in data protection, adequately resourced and report to the highest management level.

“We know several charities have already been fined for breaching GDPR. No matter how noble your cause, no organisation is exempt from GDPR’s jurisdiction,” says Kerry. “We hold large quantities of personal data including that of patients, staff and donors which all need to be protected with a high level of security. “This troubled us as we hold such a large amount of very different types of data. We lived in fear of the risk of hacking and, even worse, ransomware demanding payment in Bitcoins. “Some of the complexities surrounding information governance and how best to appoint an external data protection officer were problems we knew we needed outside support to solve. “A former colleague of mine had met Harj and the Aristi team at an event and mentioned them to me. “As we needed someone we could trust implicitly, we undertook an in-depth search: their website, Google, credit checks etc. Aristi came across so well in terms of both their offering and their professionalism.”

The Solution

A GDPR review to identify any gaps in compliance and develop an improvement plan

A Virtual DPO service providing access to GDPR expertise

Monthly compliance audits to provide assurance to senior management and identify next priorities

A penetration test to identify any security vulnerabilities in Severn Hospice’s IT systems and provide remediation guidance

Cyber Essentials Plus certification to provide assurance to internal and external stakeholders of Severn Hospice’s commitment to good cyber security

The Outcome

“As soon as we met Aristi, we immediately gelled with them. Their depth of experience was abundantly clear. Everything worked like clockwork. Their advice was always timely, really valuable, genuine and independent. I felt you could really trust their advice because their professionalism and reputation hangs on how well they protect us. “Some of the changes we needed were quite worrying,” says Kerry, “But Aristi assured us that many organisations were in the same position but at least we were getting our house in order. He made it so simple for us – advising us through the whole process, providing continuous support often at short notice.“