GDPR Compliance for Emails

Posted by RPost on September 29th, 2022

How to Ensure GDPR Email Compliance Securely and Effectively

Ever since the European Union’s privacy law, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), came into effect on May 25, 2018, it has become a platinum standard for email privacy and compliance. Though it didn’t kill email as the doomsayers predicted, it continues to be a cause of headache for some organizations when it comes to collecting, storing and sharing personally identifiable information over email.

GDPR has raised the bar to a higher standard of consent for subscribers based in the EU and redefined the rules - meaning how you have collected consent from EU subscribers in the past is not compliant anymore. Also, though the UK left the EU on December 31, 2021, it came out with its own version known as the UK-GDPR, which took effect on January 31, 2020.

In the past most of us never thought of email as subject to privacy compliance but our mailboxes in fact contain a trove of personal data - from names and email addresses to attachments and conversations about people. All of this is covered by the GDPR’s strict new requirements on data protection. Any non-compliance can hit you with a fine of €20 million or 4% of global revenue, whichever is higher, plus compensation for damages.

So, what does GDPR say about email compliance for your EU and UK clients? In this article, we are going to focus specifically on email compliance related to digital security.

What Does GDPR Say About Email Compliance

First off, any organization – companies, micro-enterprises, charities – that handle personal information of EU and the UK citizens is subject to GDPR. And this includes not just organizations within the EU or the UK but organizations across the globe offering goods or services to people there.

GDPR’s email compliance is focused on three core matters:

• Safeguarding personal data
• GDPR-compliant archive for quick search and retrieval
• Restoring availability and access to personal data after a breach.

One common thread connecting all is data protection, and by extension, email security. GDPR presented an enormous challenge for businesses to bolster their digital security defenses, and one of the data protections measures wholeheartedly recommended include email encryption!

How to Ensure GDPR Compliance

Per GDPR stipulation, any personally identifying information needs to be encrypted to prove compliance. But what constitutes personal data? Basically, anything that can identify an EU or UK resident or citizen, such as:

• Name
• Address
• Online identifier
• Health records
• Financial information

While talking about email encryption, it is often assumed that protection must be applied while sending an email. But the GDPR email compliance is more than that. The data must be encrypted in transit (traveling from one network to the other) as well as at rest (sitting in files or databases).

GDPR Compliance Made Easier with RMail

Encrypting your data is a simple, proactive measure that you can take right now to comply with GDPR. A reliable and secure email encryption solution helps organizations to significantly reduce the cost of a data breach down the road.

RMail has been top rated for its security and auditable proof of compliance capabilities, besides offering the simplest user experience for the sender and recipient. Plus, it is much more affordable at scale. Try it now to send emails for free!

For more information: https://rmail.com/learn/gdpr-compliant-email