Working together and simple solutions are crucial to islands’ success on data

Closer collaboration and simplifying the way terms and conditions and privacy notices are presented were the consensus outcomes of the recent Islands Data Governance Forum Conference.

Sure Business was one of the sponsors of the conference, which brought together data, governance and risk professionals from across Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man, Gibraltar and further afield.

Regulators from the islands agreed that collaboration on data policies and requirements, as far as is possible, was a sensible step to bring uniformity and clarity for organisations and individuals, and increased the islands’ collective power when negotiating with international corporations and larger governments.

Discussions also focused on what can be done to make it easier for people to understand how their data is used, stored and controlled. There was agreement across the panel sessions that long-winded terms and conditions documents are not the best way to communicate with service users and many people just blindly accept them.

A number of solutions were put forward as part of the event including video formats and increasing accessibility of information.

Grant Mossman, cybersecurity consultant at Sure Business, attended the event and said: “There was a really positive mood at the conference and a clear spirit of collaboration among speakers and the audience.

“It was great to be joined this year by the privacy commissioner for Bermuda, as well as representatives from the founding members of the Islands Data Governance Forum. Getting perspectives from other jurisdictions – and companies like Adidas and Specsavers – gives us all a better understanding of how data management works best and how data is used.”

As well as the conference, the Islands Data Governance Forum also presented its 2023 awards, including the Sure Business Champion Award which was won by Peter Bassill, Gibraltar Cert.

The award recognises individuals at any level who have committed to implementing a Data Governance/cyber project/process and whose involvement has made a positive impact on either their peers, their institution, their students, their local community and/or their local workforce.

We were proud to be involved in the Islands Data Governance Forum Conference and awards, and continue to support efforts to collaborate with other organisations to play our part in protecting vital data.