Ubiquiti | New Colour Range and Finishes

Back in the days, Access Points (AP) used to be blunt and boring since you were limited to the white colour only. However, you can forget those days as Ubiquity is going to soon release their new range of colours and skins for the new UniFi nanoHD AP.

The Ubiquiti UniFi nanoHD AP features simultaneous, dual-band, 4×4 MU-MIMO technology and convenient 802.3af PoE compatibility. The compact design delivers a cost-effective combination of value and performance.

There are literally hundreds and hundreds of AC certified devices being used today, and all of them can benefit from the deployment of wave 2 AC access points. The nanoHD AP features the latest in Wi-Fi 802.11ac Wave 2 MU-MIMO technology.

Apart from speed, there are 3 main features that separate wave 2 APs from its wave 1 predecessor:

• MU-MIMO
• 4 spatial or data streams
• 160 MHz channels

What does this mean for your business?

With the right design in place, wave 2 access points can offer better performance using fewer APs, which helps boost productivity, efficiency and user satisfaction rates.

We’ve had lots of clients who asked about having an oak coloured access point, and we’ve always felt sorry to let them know it was not possible. But now thanks to Ubiquiti’s new range of colours and skins, they allow the UniFi nanoHD AP to blend into its surroundings.

Access Points | Better for Businesses

While range extenders are great for home Wi-Fi networks, they’re not efficient for modern businesses. This is because they can only support a limited number of devices at one time, usually no more than 20. While range extenders do increase the coverage of a Wi-Fi router, they do not increase its available bandwidth. Depending on the number of devices you have connected simultaneously, a range extender could end up weighing down your connection.

Access points, on the other hand, can handle over 60 simultaneous connections each. By installing access points throughout the office, users can roam freely from room to room without experiencing network interruptions. As they move through the building, their devices shift seamlessly from one access point to the next without dropping the connection—they will not even realize they are switching between networks.

Advantages of Using Wireless Access Points

When you have both employees and guests connecting with desktops, laptops, mobile phones, and tablets, 20 devices on a wireless network adds up quickly. At 60 simultaneous connections each, access points give you the freedom to scale the number of devices supported on your network. But that’s only one of the advantages of using these network enhancers—consider these points:

• Business-grade access points can be installed anywhere you can run an Ethernet cable. Newer models are also compatible with Power over Ethernet Plus, or PoE+ (a combination Ethernet and power cord), so there is no need to run a separate power line or install an outlet near the access point.
• Additional standard features include Captive Portal and Access Control List (ACL) support, so you can limit guest access without compromising network security, as well as easily manage users within your Wi-Fi network.
• Select access points include a Clustering feature – a single point from which the IT administrator can view, deploy, configure, and secure a Wi-Fi network as a single entity rather than a series of separate access point configurations.

Thanks to 4gon for the image.

Do the terms ‘802.11ac’, ‘Wave 2’ and ‘5GHz’ sound familiar? They are often associated with shiny new phones and Access Points. Conversely, ‘2.4GHz’ may invoke images of old barcode scanners and legacy home routers. Is this a fair perception?

It’s been apparent for a couple of years that the 2.4GHz band of Wi-Fi is getting more crowded. Allowing users to share this spectrum at the same time is the thing that made it so useful, but at the moment, the same feature unfortunately starts to make the spectrum unusable in several situations.

In 2016, Apple and Cisco issued a paper in regards to the best network practices for enterprises where they stated that the use of 2.4GHz band is not considered suitable for business and/or mission critical enterprise applications. They also suggested to businesses to change to 5GHz band and replace the 2.4GHz.

In 2014, the Wi-Fi Alliance analysed the Wi-Fi enabled devices in the world, plus the amount of selling and shipping of sales each year. The results showed that the number of new devices is going to continuously grow at a fast pace. Most of the devices sold today can work with both 2.4GHz and 5GHz spectrum, but they are set to default to use 2.4GHz spectrum. The reason behind devices being set as default to using 2.4GHz is to enable usability of these devices on older Wi-Fi routers. This unfortunately leads to creating an increasing demand in only one part of the spectrum. Hence, there is no doubt the bandwidth can get full.

What is the solution that the market has found?

Wi-Fi/802.11 started off in 1997 and it ran exclusively on 2.4GHz. Two years later, in 1999, 802.11a has launched and 5GHz became an alternative. Between 2009 and 2017, as specified above, most devices have been manufactured with 5GHz support. However, this is set to continue with 5GHz-only devices (802.11ac) which is seeing a rapid adoption rate.

Some of the devices like Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, etc. connect to Wi-Fi by exclusively using 2.4GHz. This might be a sign 2.4GHz is not dying. Sadly, non-Wi-Fi equipment interfere on the 2.4GHz frequency and makes it more congested than ever before. For this reason, Wi-Fi moves towards a 5GHz-only future.

What is the difference between 2.4GHz and 5GHz?

Most of the existent devices rely on 2.4GHz connections even though they have 5GHz support. 2.4GHz connection is a shorter, denser frequency which is better for range and in case there are walls between the router and the user. Having numerous devices using the same frequency impacts the overall quality and result in dropped connection occasionally.

Changing to 5GHZ connection results in less interference and there is a stronger signal, meaning a more reliable and constant connection and faster data transfer. The drawback of 5GHz is its shorter range in comparison to 2.4GHz and has more difficulty penetrating obstacles like walls or windows.

To conclude, 2.4GHz has better range but loads of interference while 5GHz has a shorter range with less interference.

The Future

The explosion of IoT has increased the dependency on 2.4GHz and some devices are still produced to connect to 2.4GHz frequency only. Manufacturers are doing this because chipsets are cheaper and often provide better connectivity range compared to 5GHz.

As devices start to focus on supporting both frequencies (2.4GHz and 5GHz) or 5GHz-only, we could see 5GHz becoming the cheaper alternative.

To answer the question of this article, we can safely say 2.4GHz is not dead but will be soon. However, technology needs to continuously find new solutions as the 5GHz spectrum can end up in the same place 2.4GHz did, meaning that if all devices move to using 5GHz, it may also get overcrowded.

For the future, experts advise to make sure you purchase devices that support 5GHz (802.11ac). Also, SDR can improve the operational efficiency and performance of a wireless network, and can also ease the transition to 5GHz-only frequency, so it may be worth investing in.

With thanks to Aerohive for the image.

In a world where technology evolved so much that almost everything needs an internet connection, you might ask yourself whether there will be enough bandwidth for all these devices. Will the existing system be fast enough for all the data? And most importantly, will the data be secure?

Scientists have the answer to all of these questions, through this upcoming technology called Li-Fi (Light Fidelity). This is believed to be the next generation of internet where light will be the medium for transmitting data. Yes, you read that right. The light you use in your house, with some modifications can be used to transmit data to the devices that require internet connection.

Li-Fi was invented by Harald Haas back in 2011, when he demonstrated for the first time that the light from a single flickering LED could transmit far more data than a cellular tower. Li-Fi was tested in labs and achieved speeds of up to 224 Gbps, giving this technology the potential to change everything about the way we use the Internet.

In 2015, scientists have taken Li-Fi out of the lab for the first time, trialing it in Tallinn, Estonia. The reported data transmission speed was clocked at 1 GB per second said to be 100 times faster than current average Wi-Fi speeds.

Li-Fi has also been tested in India this year. Education and Research Network (ERNET) is an autonomous scientific society under the IT Ministry. ERNET conducted a pilot test with Philips India and IIT-Madras at IIT-Madras campus, to gauge the impact and results of Li-Fi. It seems that the tests were successful, and further research is currently underway to make Li-Fi commercially viable. The pilot test was conducted a few weeks ago in controlled environment, and now, the researchers are collaborating with Indian Institute Of Science for further insights.

The technology uses Visible Light Communication (VLC). A medium that uses VLC between 400 and 800 THz. As said above, small impulses switching ON and OFF, like a torch, can be used to write and transmit data in binary code. However, do not worry about a light flickering all the time in an office or in your house, the speed at which the LEDs are switching is imperceptible to the naked eye.

Why do we need a change in the existing technology?

Since the beginning, we have been using Radio Frequency (RF) medium to transmit data wirelessly. RF uses radio waves which have a couple of drawbacks at the moment:

• High demand for the internet that could not be met by the current method
• Demand for higher network speed and, therefore, a need for a bigger bandwidth
• RF medium is not safe to be used in hospitals, power plants, aeroplanes etc. and these places will also need internet connectivity to match the modern era we are in
• RF is believed not to be safe, since your data can escape through walls and cannot be contained within a particular area

These couple of drawbacks call for a new technology – Let’s welcome Li-Fi. The benefits of Li-Fi, other than the faster speed, is that light cannot pass through walls, hence it makes it more secure, and with less interference between devices.

How does it work?

As mentioned above, Li-Fi uses light to transmit data through special modified LED lights, unlike the Wi-Fi connection that uses RF. As we know, LED is a semiconductor device and like all semiconductors it has switching properties which can be used to transmit data.

Every LED lamp is powered through a driver, this driver will get information from the Internet server and the data will be encoded in the driver. Based on this encoded data, the LED lamp will flicker at a very high speed that cannot be noticed by the human eye. The Photo Detector on the other end will be able to read all the flickering, decoding it after the Amplification and Processing of data. VLC has a frequency between 400 and 800 THz, while radio waves are just 300 GHz.

How far until we will be able to use Li-Fi?

Scientists say that Li-Fi will probably not completely replace Wi-Fi, but rather the two technologies could be used together to achieve more efficient and secure networks. Furthermore, this is also because replacing the existent Wi-Fi infrastructure with Li-Fi is not feasible. However, research teams around the world are exploring how to retrofit the devices we have at the moment to work with Li-Fi technology.

Li-Fi experts are aiming to start installing Li-Fi technology in hospitals and offer a plug-and-play application for secure wireless internet access, with a capacity of 11.5 MB/second (comparable to the first generation of Wi-Fi).

If applications like these and the trial in Estonia prove successful after further observation, we could achieve what Haas outlined back in 2011, namely the beginning of a new internet era.

Now, prepare to 01100101 01101110 01101010 01101111 01111001 00100000 01001100 01101001 00101101 01000110 01101001 00100000 01110011 01101111 01101111 01101110.

With thanks to trak.in for the image.

Remember the days where you had to wait for someone to get off the phone so that you could connect to the internet?

We might have moved quite a way on from that, but we do still get the occasional connection problems with todays Wi-Fi.

Over recent years we’ve seen internet speeds and Wi-Fi improve massively. Wireless connections are now more reliable than they ever have been, and data speeds are faster.

Unfortunately though, that doesn’t mean there’s never an issue. I used to work from a well known coffee shop a few afternoons a week while my little boy was at pre-school and I can say first hand that Wi-Fi isn’t without issue, whether it’s slow to load or just no connection, sometimes it just doesn’t do what you want it to.

Below are the most common problems you’ll encounter with your home network internet and how you can fix them.

S L O W Connection

This is a common problem and even though the speeds reaching most homes are getting faster and faster, wireless networks can get still get bogged down. You’ll likely find that your internet connection is still working, but it’s just the speeds that are slower than normal. Luckily there is usually a completely logical explanation that is quite straightforward to fix.

Cause: The most obvious (and probably more straightforward) problem with slow Wi-Fi speeds is being physically too far away from the router. The further you and your device are from the router, the more unreliable the connection will be.
Fix: It’s pretty simple… In the words of Phyllis Nelson, moooooove closerrrrrr. Get a bit closer to the router. If it’s in a different room, then try moving into that room and see if it speeds up. If this is an issue that frequently annoys you, and stops you connecting from where you want to, then try moving the router to a better spot. Try putting it in the most centralised location possible within your home, up high, perhaps on a shelf, and away from any other devices which could cause interference. (We’ve got a few blogs which touch on interference and what to avoid when placing your router). If that doesn’t fix the problem, then you could also consider extending the reach of your network by purchasing a second router and a set of powerline network adapters.

Cause: Another potential cause of slowdowns is a lack of bandwidth. If everyone is at home and sitting scrolling through their social networks on their phone, working on their computers, and catching up with a boxset on tv, all of these data-hungry applications will be causing your typically speedy internet to be spread rather thin.
Fix: If there are any devices which aren’t actively being used, then disconnect these. If you’ve got multiple people all trying to stream videos from Netflix, and someone else trying to game online, you could try connecting one or more of their devices directly to the router using a Cat-5 ethernet cable. This would free up some of the wireless bandwidth. If that doesn’t help, then unfortunately the problem may just be that you don’t have fast enough internet speeds to support everything at once. Perhaps you could suggest a family boardgame or a walk outside instead…
There is also a sneakier possible reason for the slowness, and that’s the chance that someone nearby, perhaps a neighbour, is leeching off your Internet. This is entirely preventable – Make sure you stay on top of your setup security, always have your network password protected, and only give it out sparingly.

Cause: Interference. We’ve blogged about this issue a couple of times and it can be a real problem. If you live in a crowded area then this issue is a very real possibility, but there are ways around it. Most people leave their settings unchanged when they initially set up their internet. Default wireless frequency channels (for example 1, 6 and 11) become very over-used.
Fix: Nowadays, we as a consumer are lucky with many newer model routers being capable of automatically selecting the least crowded frequencies upon rebooting. To check this, perform a power cycle on your router. You can also change them manually by logging in to the admin panel and choosing a different channel.In addition to this, if you have a dual-band router, you could try enabling both 2.4GHz and 5GHz. You can use the 5GHz channel for your most important connections.

Cause: Unfortunately, internet speeds during peak hours can slow for everyone, especially, again, in crowded, urban areas.
Fix: The down side to this is there’s not really a great deal you can do about it. If you can try to schedule your internet usage outside of peak hours then obviously that will help, but probably not always possible.

Cause: With wireless technology changing all the time, and having improved enormously over the last decade, you’ll be forgiven for not realising that the problem is simply an outdated router. New wireless standards have been put in place, speeds are faster than ever, fiber is being offered in more areas and devices you never thought would require an Internet connection now need Wi-Fi who’d have thought you’d be connecting your lights and fridge to the internet?
Fix: If you suspect that the router may be the issue, then it might be time to raid the piggy bank and invest in a new one. Best practice is to upgrade your router about every two years and can help you avoid certain issues altogether.

No Internet Connection

Cause: Every now and again, there’ll be a glitch in the matrix and the router or modem (or a combination or both) just stop communicating with each other. Annoyingly, there isn’t always an explanation, it’s just one of those things.
Fix: First and foremost – Try pulling the plug. Disconnect the modem and the router from power and wait at least 30 seconds before restoring power to both. More often than not, this will sort the problem and get everyone talking again.

Cause: Another common problem is the connection dropping completely, and not due to a hardware issue or anything like that, but rather a massive service outage.
Fix: This again, is one of those things that you unfortunately can’t do much about. Head to the nearest coffee shop (hopefully not the one I previously mentioned…) or get on the phone with your Internet service provider (ISP) and tell them affected. Whilst this frustratingly won’t do a lot to speed up the recovery time and get you back online, it will help the ISP know more about which areas are affected by an outage.

Hopefully one of these fixes will have fixed your Wi-Fi issue!

With thanks to osxdaily.com for the image

We are now a world of people who always want to be online and connected. There aren’t that many places where you can go where there is absolutely no reception, no Wi-Fi, no 3G/4G, but a plane used to be one of those sacred places.

A place providing a precious few hours away from the digital realm and a break away from emails, WhatsApp notifications and all sorts of other pings. But no more.

You might have once been able to use the excuse “Sorry I didn’t reply, I was on a plane!” but in-flight Wi-Fi is now becoming an increasingly common offering – Mostly on flagship airlines but possibly the budget ones aswell.

And so you might find yourself wondering – How does in-flight Wi-Fi actually work? How can I get an internet signal when I’m 35,000 feet up in the air?

Well in simplest terms, there are 2 ways this can occur.

The first is from the ground via mobile broadband towers. The signals these sent are received by an aircrafts antennas which are usually found on the base of the main body of the plane.

Theoretically, there should be no interruptions in connectivity as the plane automatically connects and receives signals from the nearest tower as it travels through different parts of airspace. If, however, you are travelling over a large body of water or perhaps very remote terrain then this method can make connectivity an issue.

The second way to get Wi-Fi while you fly uses uses satellite technology. Satellites in geostationary orbit (35,786km above the planet) send and receive signals to earth via receivers and transmitters. These are the same satellites that are used in television signals, weather forecasting, and covert military operations. In the same way that devices on the ground can connect, so can the plane.

Your smartphone or device can then transmit information to and from the nearest satellite signal through an antenna on the top of the plane. The satellite acts as the ‘middle man’ as information is passed between the ground and the plane. Passengers can access Wi-Fi onboard the plane via a router.

As per usual, the US are a bit ahead on the whole Wi-Fi aboard your plane thing. Their infrastructure is much more developed than elsewhere in the world and so you will tend to find better (and cheaper) Wi-Fi offerings on American flights than those in Europe.

So now you know how you can get Wi-Fi on a plane, your next question might be, why is it so slow?

While technology is undoubtedly developing at a fast pace, it has strived but not quite managed to keep up with the sophistication and sheer number of Wi-Fi-guzzling devices and the demand for their use at all times.

The first onboard Wi-Fi service was launched by Gogo (previously known as Aircell) on a Virgin America plane a decade ago back in 2008. At this time, the connection was an adequate 3 Mbps, enough for the functionality of a few laptops (without the streaming of videos – that was prohibited). Here in 2018 however, every single passenger will likely have at least one device that they will want to connect to various apps, websites and multiple services which means there is a much greater strain and demand on resources.

Today you’ll likely see an offering of 12 Mbps via a satellite connection, but these are expensive to maintain and upgrade so we see this technology lagging behind too.

So whilst Gogo has a monopoly on US inflight Wi-Fi, it is been widely criticised for its painfully slow connection speeds.

In comparison to the inflight Wi-Fi speed of 12 Mbps, last year Ofcom reported that UK households enjoyed an average internet speed of 36.2 Mbps so there is rather a gap between what people are used to at home and what people get onboard their flight.

So if inflight Wi-Fi is so slow, why is it so expensive?

Both methods of technology come at a price, as do the in-aircraft systems. Not only that, but the necessary antennas also increase drag, which adds fuel costs onto the airline’s bill.

Factor in the maintenance and engineering costs and you’ll start to see that these fees are passed on to the customers. As with all service providers, there are price variations between airlines for in-flight connectivity, with some (like Emirates) offering the first 10MB free as a trial.

So if we’re paying over the odds for Wi-Fi, will it get faster in the future?

Yes, they’re working on it. The European Aviation Network [EAN] is being developed by communications firm Inmarsat and Deutsche Telekom. This will be a high-capacity satellite Wi-Fi network backed up by ground towers, promising to provide “a reliable high bandwidth broadband service in the air” throughout Europe. The EAN is on track for launch this year (more information here https://www.inmarsataviation.com/en/services/european-aviation-network/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-european-aviation-network.html )

By 2020, inflight Wi-Fi is set to be a billion-dollar revenue sector with over half of the world’s aircraft being equipped for inflight Wi-Fi within a matter of years.

Gogo, with a network that covers the whole country, currently monopolises US in-flight Wi-Fi. Despite it being criticised for slow download and upload speeds, it promises that its new 2Ku service will deliver up to 70 Mbps due to upgraded antennas and satellite services. Almost double the average connection you see on land!

We haven’t seen this in Europe yet as the connection to satellites has been patchy due to dense airspace. However, with the imminent launch of the EAN and their launch client IAG (who own British Airways) Europe will start to see Wi-Fi onboard short haul flights as soon as this Summer.

Unfortunately though, Britain’s budget airlines are less likely to be offering this service anytime soon, with Ryanair’s spokesman going as far as saying that their customers enjoy being off the radar and out of contact during their flight.

So you might get away with the ‘Sorry I was on a plane!’ excuse for a bit longer…

With thanks to luxuryactivist.com for the image.

What will happen if my company is not compliant with the GDPR?

Perhaps the biggest question companies are asking themselves regarding this. Non-compliance with the GDPR faces penalties of up to €20 million or 4 percent of global annual turnover, whichever is higher. Ovum reports that 52% of companies believe that they will be fined for non-compliance. It’s also been predicted by Oliver Wyman (management consulting firm) that the European Union could collect as much as $6 billion in fines and penalties in the first year.

You likely won’t be the only one if your organisation is not in compliance by May 25th. The general consensus is that about half of the U.S. companies that should be compliant will not be on all requirements. Solix Technologies released a survey in December where 22% of companies were not even aware that they must comply with GDPR. Furthermore, 38% said that the personal data they process is not protected from misuse and unauthorised access at every stage of its life cycle.

One requirement is looking to be particularly difficult for companies trying to gain compliance – The right to be forgotten. Almost two-thirds of the Solix survey respondents say they are unsure if they can get rid an individual’s personal information forever by the May deadline. This leaves many organisations vulnerable to facing fines.

How will penalties be assessed?

This is the big unanswered question. Will there be a difference in fines between a breach that doesn’t have much impact on an individual compared with one where their exposed personal identity information causes damage? And what will that difference be?

It’s thought that the regulators will want to make an example of a few companies to send out a message to those that are non-compliance. Following this, organisations can make a more accurate assessment of what to expect in the event of being found non-compliant.

Which GDPR requirements will my company be affected by?

Following GDPR requirements will mean companies need to change the way they process, store, and protect customers’ personal data. For example, when an individual consents, companies will be permitted to store and process personal data, but for “no longer than is necessary for the purposes for which the personal data are processed.” Personal data must also be portable from one company to another, and companies must erase personal data upon request.

That last item is also known as the right to be forgotten, for which there are some exceptions. There are some legal requirements that supersede the GDPR and mean that an organisation may maintain certain data, for example, HIPAA health record requirements.

Although the term “reasonable” has not been well defined by the GDPR, company security teams must be able to provide a “reasonable” level of privacy and data protection to citizens of the EU.

A potentially challenging requirement is the rule around breach reporting. Following detection of a data breach, companies must report it within 72 hours to supervisory authorities and individuals affected.

Performing impact assessments to identify vulnerabilities and how to address them is another requirement, with the intention of helping to mitigate the risk of breaches.

Successful GDPR – A Case Study

Let’s take ADP as an example. This is a company that provides Human Capital Management via a cloud based system as well as business outsourcing services to more than 650,000 companies around the globe. That’s millions of people around the world that it holds personal identity information for So it’s hard to imagine a company that could be more affected by the GDPR. It’s not just regulators that will expect them to be compliant, but all of their clients as well, as if these clients are to be compliant, then ADP needs to be first. If ADP were to be found as non-compliant then it would not only face hefty fines, but potentially a huge loss of business as well.

The scale and global focus of ADP holds it in good stead and gives them an advantage when facing the regulations surround the GDPR. There won’t be a huge leap to adhere to these as they already adhere to so many privacy laws and security regulations. They are certainly not starting from scratch. There need for compliance is not just as a company, but as a service provider too.

ADP may well be better prepared than most, but it is still a large and global project which they began a year ago. Before GDPR had been discussed, they had already started working on data flow mapping and privacy assessments as a part of new products.

This is what they see as the key for successful compliance – The early onset of data flow mapping. “Data flow mapping is required to do inventory of products, and processing PII is a first step to data protection impact assessments that are required. We’ve also implemented privacy by design in our new offers and products.” ADP even provides training for its developers to support its “privacy by design” policy.

Another step towards success is pulling in people from many areas of the company. This project of complying with the GDPR is something that the whole organisation needs to be involved with. It affects all the operations, and the functional groups, not just a pure privacy or compliance project for the security teams. The right processes need to be implemented across the organisation as a whole.

One mechanisms for securing PII is encryption, which is something that ADP already have in place. Security wise, this is something that can then be communicated to their clients and then onto their employees and clients of their own.

ADP are very clear that they will be compliant and on time. They are a data processor for other companies, so this compliance is something they are making clear to their clients. They want to protect their personal data to the standard expected by the EU regulator, and thus, have applied for binding corporate rules for protecting personal identity data.

Setting a rather good example of where to start and what to do, here are ADP’s tips on beginning the GDPR compliance journey:

• As a company, understand what it means for you in terms of your business. Identify to what extent you will be affected by the new regulations and compile a gap analysis.
• Take an operational approach. Take each function of your organisation, and have a representative from each. This is not just a purely legal or privacy compliance project. Each organisational function representative can determine whether a requirement affects their department, and how they can or already do meet this requirement.
• Documentation. Part of the GDPR is being able to show how you have become compliant. Get your business people to do an assessment, decide what needs to be done, and then document what you are doing.

What should my company be doing to prepare for the GDPR?

• Get top management to set a sense of urgency. You must be prepared.
• Get all stakeholders involved. Get a task force in place that includes marketing, finance, sales, operations—any function within the organization that collects, analyses, or otherwise makes use of customers’ personal identity information. Information will be shared better, and will be most useful to those implementing the technical and procedural changes that the GDPR requires. Each individual team will also be better prepared to deal with any impact on them.
• Conduct a risk assessment: One of the biggest obstacles but the first course of action – you need to know what data you store and process on EU citizens and understand the risks surrounding this. This risk assessment must also outline the measures being taken to mitigate that risk. A key element of this assessment will be to uncover all shadow IT that might be collecting and storing PII. The greatest risk for non-compliance is from shadow IT and smaller point solutions – Don’t ignore them!
• Hire or appoint a Data Protection Officer: This could be someone that already holds a similar role to this position, as long as there is no conflict of interest in terms of ensuring personal identify information protection. If there is no one then you will need to hire a DPO. This could be a ‘virtual’ consultative role rather than a full time position.
• Create a data protection plan: This is something that most companies already have in place. You will need to review and update it with the GDPR in mind, to ensure that it complies with requirements.
• Don’t forget about mobile: According to a survey, 64% of IT and security executives access customer, partner, and employee PII using mobile devices. 81 percent of the survey respondents said that employees were allowed to install personal apps on these mobile devices. In terms of GDPR compliance, this creates a unique set of risks – If any of those apps access and store PII, they must do so in a GDPR-compliant manner which is very difficult to control, especially when you consider that employees will use unauthorized apps too.
• Create a plan to report your GDPR compliance progress: As the May deadline gets closer, organisations must be able to demonstrate how they are making progress with the new regulations by completing the Record of Processing Activities (RoPA). This centres around taking an inventory of risky applications. This will help you avoid being an easy target for regulators. Through doing this RoPA you are identifying where personal data is being processed, who is processing it and how it is being processed.
• Implement measures to mitigate risk: So you’ve identified the risks and how to mitigate them, next you need to put those measures into place. Following the RoPA, your GDPR team can identify and investigate any potential data risks and determine the level of security required to protect that data.
• Ask for help. If you have a small organisation then don’t be afraid to ask for help if needed. Smaller companies can and will still be affected by GDPR, some more than others. If you don’t have the resources needed to meet requirements then there are outside resources available to provide advice and technical expertise to help you through this process.
• Test incident response plans: Companies have 72 hours to report a data breach. Your response teams need to know how to respond and report a breach – Their ability to do this effectively will influence your company’s risk of fines. Do a test and practice this process.
• Set up a process for ongoing assessment: To ensure that you stay compliant, you will need to consistently monitor the processes you have in place and continuously improve them. You may wish to incentivise employees for following new policies, and hand out penalties for those that don’t. GDPR policy observances could even be added to employee contracts.

The aim of all of this is not merely to tick a box and comply for the sake of avoiding a fine. You can view this as a way of improving your business. Not only could compliance be seen as a competitive advantage, but it will also boost consumers confidence in your brand and service. In addition to this, and perhaps most importantly, the changes that will be made in order to comply with the GDPR will result in technical improvements, process efficiency and the effectiveness of how your organisation manages and secures data. All positive things!

With thanks to superoffice.com for the image.